GoreGrind '97
by kennkaniff
Summary: A collection of halloween/horror-based fics centered around and about the Blazblue cast for October and beyond. Will contain graphic depictions of violence, sex, gore, scary situations, and others. If this is not your thing, it's suggested not to click beyond this point.
1. It Feeds (Evil Character AU)

**I do not own Blazblue.**

 **Halloween is approaching once more and it seemed natural to write for it again. The stories I made for the holiday about two years ago will be included in here for convenience sake.**

 **All of these one-shots will be based on three** **canon** **pairings (Ragna x Rachel, Bullet x Bang, Kagura x Kokonoe), but not all fics will focus exclusively on these characters and will include other characters in major roles for better or for worse. This one is a repost of an Evil!AU of Ragna and Rachel which contains my first attempt at gore in a very long time.**

* * *

He laid still and aching next to his older lover in her coffin, biting and lapping at her neck mindlessly as the urges slowly began to surface in his head, his sharp teeth and long tongue leaving minute bruises and marks all over her soft white cheeks and pale shoulders. He could hear it—he could see it. It was telling him, ordering him in a blood curdling voice to obey its command and satiate its hunger once more. It was harming him both physically and mentally, it taking all of his strength to not feast on his mate's body before him instead of just drinking some of her blood. His teeth throbbed in pain for something to rip into while his stomach wept for sustenance. He needed to tell her—if he holds off of feeding any longer, God knows what he will do to her.

"Rachel..." he panted as saliva threatened to spill over his lip. "I can't... I need to go..."

The vampire was not ignorant to the other's feverish behavior and tried to ignore it to see how far it would take for him to either crack and quench his thirst with her blood or get so "starved" that he would lose control and feast on her. Of course she was always careful enough not to actually let him hurt her when he got like that, but it was very interesting to her how he could turn into a witless beast just from sheer hunger alone.

As sadistic as it was she reveled in how it would take as little as a few days for him to want to go back out and search for food. Sometimes, like right now for example, she would convince him to stay with her at the castle for sometime and have him subsist on her essence as a feeble substitute for a whole human. He thought of it as nothing more than a simple endurance test to see how long it would take for him to want to go back out, but for Rachel it was a means of controlling him—to keep him under her wing and ensure that she is the one who controls when he eats and when he is allowed to go out and eat. Ragna was far too careless to hunt on his own without causing too much trouble in his wake, so she made it her appointed duty to ensure when, where and how he gets his breakfast, lunch and supper, and it was certainly not out of pity toward the mortals he devoured, not at all. She could honestly care less about who or what he killed as long as she directed where he went to eat.

But she needed not to keep him from feeding any longer—she already got enough of a reaction out of him, so there was no point in torturing him any further and prolonging his meal.

Rachel laughed quietly to herself as she rolled over on her side to face Ragna and take in his haggard appearance. His eyes were black and sunken, his face bright and red from excessive body heat and his right arm twitching ever so slightly as if the beast itself struggled to be let loose from its chains. She rubbed her hand on his forehead and swiped her thumb over his eyebrow, staring at the poor boy inquisitively while trying to feign sympathy. Such a beautiful, pitiable expression he held.

"What troubles you so, Ragna?" she asked with a pout of her lips.

"I gotta go back..." Ragna gulped and tried sitting up, Rachel doing so as well whilst bringing her other hand to his cheek. "I can't hold it back any longer..."

"Oh," Rachel cooed. "My poor boy. You're hungry again, are you not?"

Ragna nodded but groaned soon after when he felt his stomach cramp up on him and placed a quivering hand on his abdomen in response. He had to leave **now**. He could not risk putting Rachel in any danger because of him, and lose the only person in this Godforsaken world who actually cared about him.

"Well then..." the older woman began. "We cannot have that now can we?" she hid her grin as she took her hands off of him and proceeded to climb out of the casket, walking toward an adjacent table with a rotary telephone placed on its surface. She adjusted the house robe that hung lazily on her small body and picked up the receiver, staring back at Ragna as she dialed a number. "I shall supply you with a victim if it is that bad." she smirked and continued. "An officer shall suffice tonight... It is so very late that I cannot imagine any civilians being out at this time."

"Y-Yeah... Just hurry..." The criminal laid back down on the mattress and curled into a ball to suppress the pangs in his gut that grew ever so stronger. Everything was going to be okay—Rachel was going to take care of him and then he will be able to eat soon. He just needs to hold on and keep the cravings at bay for a little while longer... He'll be fine... He'll be fine...

Rachel waited patiently for an operator on the other line to pick up the phone, she twirling her hair as she cleared her throat to prepare herself for the best distressed voice she could muster. Once she heard the ringing of the telephone stop, a voice on the other end had occurred—it sounded authoritative and tired from the late hours of the night, but still held a friendly, approachable tone.

" _NOL Distress Hotline: Yabiko, speaking. What is your emergency?"_

"I would like to report some suspicious activity, operator!" Rachel cried out. "I am walking home from a social gathering and I fear that someone is following me. His hair is white and his clothes are red, and I think it may be Ragna the Bloodedge."

If Ragna was not in too much pain right now, he would have been either dying of laughter or rolling his eyes in second-hand embarrassment at how bad Rachel was hamming up her little "distress" call. She was a much better actress than this when she phoned in for a potential victim, but tonight she probably doesn't feel like putting in that much effort in her.

But it's not like she really has to try to anyway—the NOL never took emergency calls regarding "Ragna the Bloodedge" too lightly.

There was silence on the operator's line followed by a shrill alarm that rang loud enough for Ragna to hear and prompting Rachel to hold the phone away from her sensitive ears. The operator's voice came back once again, this time sounding less tired and more professional and calculated.

" _Ma'am, where are you right now? Are you absolutely sure that this is in fact Ragna the Bloodedge?"_

"Positive..." Rachel replied. "I'm so scared—I don't know what may happen to me if I don't get home in time..." She whimpered and sniffled a little, but shot her coffin a glare when she heard Ragna let out a weak titter at her acting. Despite all the pain, he still manages to be smug? Ugh... The idiot...

" _I'm going to need you to calm down, miss,"_ the operator soothed. " _We'll send someone right away to direct you home, and reinforcement after to incapacitate him, okay?"_

Rachel frowned when she heard the voice mention "reinforcement" and asked, "How long will it take for more officers to come here?"

" _The escort will be there in five minutes. Our dispatchment team will arrive in fifteen. Please stay patient."_

Rachel resisted the urge to sigh in annoyance and thanked the operator half-heartedly before hanging up the phone. If Ragna needed to make this kill, he is going to have to be quick on his feet before the squad team gets over there. Not like they would manage to injure him or anything, but the thought of someone like Hakumen for example finding out about a whole army of innocent officers being devoured alive by the world's "greatest evil" would not sit well with him.

How annoying, Rachel thought, turning her attention toward Ragna. "Listen here," she began. "You have five minutes to get up and go to downtown Yabiko to meet whatever escort is there, but you have no more than fifteen minutes to feed." She walked back over to him and crossed her arms. "You can eat within that amount of time, correct?"

Ragna struggled to sit back up and nodded at Rachel. "I can do that..."

Rachel smiled and felt heat pool in her abdomen, the vampire biting her lip as she imagined the quick but gruesome death Ragna would surely inflict on that poor, impish mortal. When he leaves she is going to have to take care of herself—an activity that has grown habitual since she winded up being involved in Ragna's hunts.

He pleases her so very much in so many different ways...

What a good boy he was.

* * *

 **"** **W-wait... Where is she...?" the young blue-haired officer searched frantically for the woman who made the distress call. She followed the instructions that her commander had given her—arrive at downtown Yabiko and escort the victim away from where Ragna the Bloodedge was possibly lurking to a safe location. It was an easy job, but it was a scary one nonetheless—she was good at dealing with people, but she wouldn't know what to do against a notorious criminal like Ragna.**

Mai, the unfortunate officer who had to deal with such a dilemma, peered into an alleyway as she tightened her grip on Outseal reflexively, scanning the area for any fearful looking young woman within the vicinity. She sighed when she saw no one in particular and went back to standing against the wall of an abandoned building, adjusting the racy white halter top that was her shirt nervously. The sooner she found this girl, the sooner it would take for her to leave this godforsaken street and head home for the night. It wasn't like she was scared or anything—well maybe a little—but the last thing she needed was to get into a tussle with the _**Grim Reaper**_ of all people at two o'clock in the morning on a cold dreary evening.

She leaned back against a brick wall and looked up at the sky, dark, nearly invisible clouds obscuring the moon and blocking its celestial light. Times like this, when she was alone and everything was quiet, she always wondered how Noel and her other friends were doing. She has since caught up with reports from the NOL stating how they have disobeyed orders and have gone rogue to overthrow the Imperator with the help of a few unknown assailants.

Mai should have been livid when she had first heard such news, but she couldn't be any happier—the NOL was a shifty, corrupted organization, and she was glad that her friends were actually fighting back against it. She would be fighting alongside them as well if it weren't for some hiccups that were preventing her from doing so—she needed an escape plan, a backup escape plan, a backup **backup** escape plan, and proper knowledge on how her newly acquired legacy weapon worked.

"So much work..." she grumbled under her breath, but thought about it all for a moment before smiling soon after. Even if it was a lot of work, she'll eventually get to be with her friends—hell or high water, she'll stick with them through thick and thin, even if it did cost her her life.

"I guess in the long run, it's all worth the trouble..." Mai laughed at that, and was about to go search for the woman once more until she heard the echoes of lingering footsteps in the alleyway. She stiffened in place and held her spear close to her chest as she stepped away from the brick wall and returned to the back alley. She swallowed her fears and readied her weapon when the footsteps began to grow ever so louder—her teeth gnawing into her lower lip, and body hair standing on end as she anxiously waited for whoever was approaching her.

"Who's there?" she called.

The footsteps momentarily stopped for a second, their echo reverberating through the stale autumn air, allowing Mai ample to time to mentally prepare herself for whatever encounter she was about to endure. The footsteps then started back up again, but went a little faster with an inhumanely deep, exhausted and sadistic voice accompanying them.

"You must be the escort they sent," It said with little intrigue. "Good. I didn't have to look for long than..."

Mai grimaced and narrowed her eyes. "Who are you? Reveal yourself at once!" She shouted.

A masculine physique cascaded a black shadow on the wall in front of her, it growing larger and larger on the rough surface until a body suddenly appeared before her. It was a tall and fit young man who looked just a tad older than her with stark white, unkempt hair atop his head and a large burgundy jacket draped haphazardly over his large frame—the belts stitched into the fabric unbuckled, as if he were in a hurry to put it on. He glared at Mai with malicious intent, his tired and piercing red and green eyes looking into her own and staring right at her very soul.

It was then that the young officer knew that this no ordinary male—no, far from it—the silver hair and heterochromatic eyes spelled it all out for her. This was indeed the dreaded criminal that she feared that she would run into tonight, Ragna the Bloodedge.

Mai raised her weapon and gritted her teeth. No wonder she couldn't find that poor woman—this monster probably did God knows what to her. "So the distress call was correct," she barked. "What did you do that girl, you freak?"

Ragna growled and cracked his neck from side to side. "Girl? Heh... You NOL fucks are so easy to fool. As soon as you hear about my ass lurking around here, you flip shit and send out whatever officer you can to a bloodbath." He flinched when he felt his stomach rumble but smirked at Mai nonetheless. "Shame they sent someone like you though. Looks like you've barely even lived out a _fraction_ of your life."

"Wait..." she gave him a suspicious look. That phone call couldn't have been a setup for something more...nefarious, right? "What are you getting at? Is this some sort of trap?"

"Obviously," he scoffed. "You should've head home when you realized there wasn't any victim here..." Ragna stalked toward Mai, the half breed gliding his hand across the wall next to him as he took in the fearful expression on the other's face. Regret, anxiety and terror raked her body from head to toe—a look that only made him even more famished than sympathetic. As much as he loved staring at his food's face as he ate them alive, he couldn't stay for long, the man silently wishing that he had more time to enjoy this to the fullest than to make it a rushed job.

Mai stumbled backwards and almost tripped on her feet but still managed to hold her ground. This was bad—this was really, really bad—she could run away and phone for help, but it would only be a matter of time before Ragna catches her and kills her, rapes her, or worse. The only option that she had left was to fight this brute of a man and hold him off long enough until reinforcements arrived—he might look strong and scary, but appearances can be misleading!

"Why you..." Mai raised her weapon in defense when she saw Ragna close the gap between them, he just a few feet away from her and allowing the young woman to lunge at him in full throttle. She lifted the weapon over her head and aimed for his shoulder, but watched the criminal easily catch the blade of Outseal in the palm of his hand and glare at Mai in obvious pity. Mai gasped and tried wedging the spear out of his grasp, but saw Ragna look straight at her and slide his hand along the metal hilt of her weapon until he was face to face with her.

He gave Mai a sadistic grin, the other staring at him in utter shock as Ragna reeled his head back and slammed his forehead against her own—forcing the officer to let go of Outseal and tumble toward the ground, her hands clutching at her forehead as pressure welled up behind her eyes. If it weren't for her legacy weapon, Mai was absolutely sure she would be feeling pain beyond compare right now and she was grateful that she wasn't, but that didn't mean that she wasn't going to sustain an injury caused by such an unbelievably powerful attack.

Ragna looked down at Mai, expecting to hear a cry bellow from the bitch, but failed to hear any such wail. "You're a sturdy one..." he said, his curiosity mildly piqued as he edged toward her once more, an angry blue and green bruise marring the skin of her forehead. "Even men can't handle a blow to the head like that. I wonder what the case is with you..."

Mai peeked from behind her fingers and jumped when she saw Ragna standing over her, her spear in his hand and fist wrapped tightly around it. Oh God—if he found out about Outseal's ability than...

She gritted her teeth and yelled, "Like I would ever tell a creep like you!"

"I take that as more of a challenge than an insult." Ragna smirked and watched as Mai tried to scurry away from him. He put a stop to that however, the criminal raising his foot over the other's leg and slamming it down on her right shin—the dull, muffled sound of splitting and cracking bone erupting from her leg and prompting Mai to stop dead in her tracks.

He was expecting her to howl and scream in pain, to try and pull her leg from under the weight of his foot and caress it in her hands, but he saw nothing—only the flabbergasted, near panicked turn of her face that caused a few gears turn in the man's head.

Mai whimpered when she felt fragments of bone push against the inside of her skin, shattered bits of tibia penetrating and rupturing through her flesh and forming deep lacerations along her leg. Dread ran down Mai's spine at that—he broke her leg...no...he destroyed it, her skin and the fabric of her tights caving in under the weight of his boot. She was scared, petrified even, and underestimated his strength like any old fool would.

"Oh... I see what's going on..." Ragna grinded his foot into her leg mockingly while staring at the spear in his hand, taking in its intricate design. "This thing here... It has some special property, doesn't it? Pretty nifty weapon for a dumbass to have."

Mai said nothing, and just stared at the way her limb was being mangled from the inside out by Ragna's foot.

"Ah...I knew it. As long as this spear is still intact, you shouldn't feel any pain...right?" he looked down at her and licked his teeth when she saw the hopelessness swirl in her magenta eyes. That's fucking right, he thought—he wanted her to feel helpless, he wanted her to look at him as if he were the most fearful being in this pitiful world right next to the black beast. No one can help her, no one _will_ help her, and he will have this woman in body, mind and soul by the time he's done with her if he has anything to say about it.

"Please..." Mai begged. "I don't know what you want, b-but...please let me go!"

"Oh no..." he plunged Outseal into the ground next to her head and took his foot off of her crushed appendage. "I'm far from done. The fun is just getting started..." he bent down to kneel over Mai and trap her slender frame under him. He'll play a little game with this girl—messing around with his victims were his favorite part before he devoured them, and he had a good ten minutes to spare before the cops arrive. "Since you can't feel anything, why don't we see how far your pain threshold goes..."

"W-what...? N-n-no...! No! Get off! GET OFF ME!" Mai tried resisting once more, her arms waving frantically in the air until Ragna had to pin them down by the wrist with one hand and grab her throat with the other.

He squeezed the sides of her neck roughly, the officer gradually choking on her own spit as Ragna whispered, "Shut the fuck up, " he warned. "Before I break your windpipe. You're fucking lucky that I even decided to keep you alive for this long... **Now don't make me think otherwise**."

Mai shivered in place when he removed his hand from her neck and relieved the pressure off of her throat, allowing her to take large gulps of air to bring some welcomed oxygen back to her lungs, but groaned loudly when Ragna let go of her arms to move down her body. He opened his mouth to reveal large, sharp canines, those teeth nipping at various parts of her chest and abdomen and making the officer squirm, a moan of disgust leaving her parted lips as she felt Ragna stop at her stomach and lick a stripe over her navel with a ridiculously long tongue.

Mai tried resisting him once more, weakly moving her body to get it away from that damned mouth of his, but instantly stopped when she felt him sink his fangs into her abdomen, the sensation painless, but extremely uncomfortable for the poor girl. Her mouth opened in a silent scream when he continued abusing her body, Ragna's teeth tugging at the side of her stomach and tearing away at the tendons that kept it in place before completely ripping a chunk of bloodied flesh out of her with a sickening squelch. Mai's body shook vigorously as she slowly looked down at the man above her, tears welling in her eyes when she saw the unbelievably huge gash in her torso. It was wide and overflowing with blood, the wound deep enough to reveal a portion of membrane encased viscera surrounded by sinewy muscle and red bone. Mai then noticed from the corner of her eye that the man who held her captive was currently _eating_ a part of her body whole, Ragna swallowing the chunk whole as he looked over more of her figure like how a beast would stare at a wounded animal.

It then suddenly occurred to Mai that he wasn't just killing her just for the sake of doing so—he was killing her just so he could **eat** her body, to gain _sustenance_ from her.

At another desperate attempt to get away from this **monster** , Mai screamed bloody murder and tried kicking her legs once more, her broken one flailing uselessly on the ground while the other struck Ragna at his side. She knew that it probably didn't hurt him one bit, but she was running out of options at this point—it was either die a horrifying death or cry out for help to whatever bystander was near.

Ragna grimaced at the other's shrill screaming and grabbed Mai's only working leg with his hand by the back of her calf. Mai gasped and tried struggling against his grasp, but squeaked when he saw him clutch her leg tightly and bend it backwards, a loud, ear wrenching crack ringing through the air as he broke her fore limb at an ungodly angle. Split bone tore through her skin and leggings, blood spurting from the new wound and landing on Ragna's face as Mai watched in utter terror.

"Still nothing, huh?" Ragna stopped destroying her leg once he saw that the toe of her boot was in front of her face and slurped up the blood that leaked from the gash in her belly. "That's some spear you got there..."

Hot tears rolled down Mai's cheeks as she tried turning her head away from the scene before her, head growing dizzy from blood loss. There was no hope for her anymore—the damage was done and even with the most pristine of healing magic, she was positive that she would never be able to walk again. She let out a piteous whimper at the thought and asked Ragna again to let her go but knew her words would fall on deaf ears.

Ragna smelled the brine of her tears amongst the iron scent of blood and paid it no heed, biting into her stomach again to eat away at more of her body. He could care less about her despair—she was nothing more than food to him, just another person unlucky enough to be chosen as his supper for tonight. He's learned to just ignore his conscience and has convinced himself that this... this act of immorality was necessary to keep him stable—to keep it from harming himself, and more importantly, _Rachel_.

The only person who has ever learned to love a monster like him.

He kept the image of his lover in mind as he feasted on Mai, red fluid pouring from her exposed insides and pooling around and under her. This woman should be glad that she was his meal tonight—she was, like the many other civilians and officers he has consumed in his day, contributing to keep Ragna under control. She was helping in keeping him from wreaking havoc in this world by acting as his food—she was helping in protecting him and protecting Rachel from the beast that always threatened their existence.

He would do anything to ensure nothing happened to him or his mate.

Ragna indulged himself in his feeding for what seemed like hours, Mai's resistance growing weak until she stopped struggling altogether and left herself at the mercy of her captor. She, barely alive from the lack of blood running through her body, felt her head drop to the side and red dribble down her lip. Her once lively and energetic fuchsia eyes dimmed to dull pools of scarlet while her fair, peach colored skin was now just as white as snow. This was how she was going to die? Being cannibalized by the world's most dangerous fugitive? She supposed that there were far worse ways to die, but she still felt so revolted. She had so much to do—so many things to see, especially her friends. Noel...Makoto...Tsubaki...Kajun... She'll miss them all so much...

Ragna raised his head before sitting up completely to stand up on his feet and view his handiwork, his cravings subsided and hunger satisfied for the time being.

The girl was suffering he could tell, her flesh and muscle gone and exposing the untouched, pulsating organs that wriggled and threatened to spill over the corners of her wound while her legs twitched ever so slightly from the odd way of which they were destroyed. He purposefully avoided her guts so as not to kill her so soon, the half breed with another trick up his sleeve to get this bitch to feel even just the slightest bit of pain.

"You made a decent meal," he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "A little lean, but I can only complain so much..." he walked around Mai and proceeded to take her spear from the ground, the sound of sirens and bells already whistling from one end of the street to the other.

Mai, too weak to turn her head to him, asked in a sullen whisper, "Just...end it...please...I can't..."

It was probably the most pathetic thing she could ask of him, but she'd rather die than to have to bear witness to paramedics trying to save her life.

"Oh? You wanna die that bad? Sorry," Ragna let out a humorless laugh as he wrapped both of his hands around Outseal and snapped the spear in half like rotting bark before tossing the destroyed weapon to the side. "But I'm gonna let nature do its job..." he grinned as he looked down at Mai's form, his smile widening when he heard the most cacophonic scream of grief and agony leave her small mouth.

It was a heavenly mix of weeping and shouting, her body writhing on the ground and knocking over whatever objects that surrounded her from the garbage cans that lined the walls to the discarded glass bottles that littered the area. Blood erupted from her mouth and landed on the cold asphalt in a thick current of crimson while her guts spilled out of her abdomen from her reckless thrashing, landing on the ground with a thick, slosh-like noise. The mess that she was making on the ground, the way her voice gurgled and grew hoarse from the amount of fluid she was spitting up and the way she pleaded even more for Ragna to kill her was more than enough to drown out the series of sirens from the incoming vehicles that were sent to capture him.

Ragna spat on the ground and ran away from the dank alleyway, leaving Mai to suffer in a puddle of her own viscera.

He couldn't be anymore pleased with himself from such a glorious kill.

* * *

When Ragna had arrived back at the castle he did not expect Rachel to still be awake.

Instead she was doing something that she did on the occasion whenever he left to go hunt—moaning and gasping his name while laying inside her casket and masturbating furiously as the thought of his slaughters and merciless killings kept her on the brink of orgasm.

He always made sure to help her out with her little issue when she got like this when he could, pleasuring her in any way he can so as not to leave her unsatisfied, and it was always so hot to see her lose herself under him.

Tonight was one of those nights luckily, and rather than using his fingers or fucking her with reckless abandon, he was going to make love to her—show how much he adores this woman and how appreciative he is of her by mating with her. He isn't the one to verbally declare his love to Rachel, but he does not shy away from doing so with his body alone.

Ragna had joined her in the coffin, keeping his sullied jacket and shirt on to allow the stench of sweat and blood to waft in Rachel's nose seeing as how she grows so very aroused by the acrid smell of blood and sorrow. He kissed her, he touched her, he got her even more soaked with desire before finally pulling down his hakama to reveal his aching member and plunging deep into her hot sex from behind. He went hard and slow, going as deep as he could inside Rachel so she could feel the way he pulsed within her.

He then sat the both of them upright on her mattress, Ragna sitting cross-legged as he held Rachel by her hips and bounced the older woman on his cock, mewls of rapture leaving her lips as she leaned her petite body against his chest to enjoy the sensation of being filled by his girth. She called out his name, the scent of rancid blood and dried viscera attacking her senses and sending her over the edge as she brought her hands to where Ragna's were on her body and entwined her fingers together with his own.

"I'm...I'm coming..." Rachel whined. "Tell me what you did to her... How you made her suffer..."

Ragna slowed down his pace to a crawl as he processed Rachel's request. She must have been really pent up if she wanted a full description of what he did to that girl. He didn't mind it however—he knew that she always got turned on by his kills, and he'd be more than happy to send her into euphoria by his words alone.

It was the least he could do for her.

Ragna kissed her hair and snuck a hand from her hip to grope her breast, kneading the soft flesh tenderly as he whispered in her ear, "She tried to fight me, she really did, but she didn't get far—I knocked her to the ground and crushed her leg to dust..."

" _Yes..._ " The vampire hissed and closed her eyes as she moved in time with Ragna's thrusts, his cock swelling and twitching against her walls, indicating that he was at his limit as well. She gently removed one hand from his to wrap her arm around his neck and kiss him passionately, his thrusts growing harder and more frantic. "More... Tell me more..."

"She was so weak, started kicking and screaming before I even tasted her. Bitch got so annoying I had to break her other leg, the thing snapping like a twig..." Ragna growled out that last statement as he felt her tighten around him, his hand leaving Rachel's chest to grab her chin roughly and make her look at him. "I tortured her, I wanted to eat her stomach out clean, devour her innards and drink her blood but she couldn't feel any pain because of this spear she had..." he kissed her mouth, pressing tiny pecks against her lips and only parting away from her to say, "I ate her so that she was still alive, so that all of her guts were showing, and when I left..." he placed his free hand between the vampire's legs to rub circles around her slick bud, smirking when she saw her eyes nearly roll in her head at the contact. "I broke her spear so she could feel _everything_ **.** She cried, she screamed... she even begged for me to kill her..."

Rachel came almost instantly after his last revelation and sunk deeper into his chest, her mouth agape as pleasure charged through her body and left her shaking in Ragna's lap. The younger man claimed her lips once more as he too caught up with his orgasm and spilled his seed inside of her womb. They sat in silence soon after, gradually getting drunk off of each other's presence before Rachel mumbled his name quietly.

"Ragna..."

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Next time..." she simpered at the thought and stared up at him. "Let me watch you kill."

"Watch me...?" Ragna contemplated the idea and cocked his head to the side. Now that he thinks about it, Rachel has never actually watched him feed before. Well...maybe a few times when she used to stalk him none stop before they got together, but that was years ago.

He pondered some more before smiling at Rachel and nuzzling his head against her cheek. "Sure thing, baby." he reassured her. "When I get hungry again we'll do it."

And Ragna will make sure that he fulfills that promise. He never falls back on his word, especially if it was Rachel asking him to do something for her in the future.

He will do anything for her.


	2. The Lord Is My Shepherd (Blasphemy)

**I do not own Blazblue.**

 **Another repost until I'm done with the next chapter. This one is another AU based prompt that I thought of in which Ragna is a priest and Rachel is a demon who wants to jump his bones. I couldn't be bumfucked enough to edit it again, but this fic in particular was a favorite of mine to write.**

* * *

The pastor sat at his desk within his church, writing away in his notebook as the light from the candle beside him illuminated his paper and highlighted the words of his next day's sermon. He yawned loudly, the man had been inside his own little private room within the house of worship for what seemed like hours. Conducting lectures always took much of his time and even more of his energy whenever he set his mind to it, but it was always worth it in the end. Spreading the word of his own interpretation of God and the bible amongst the people of his town was often a wonderful feeling—each homily that he would orchestrate and later recite to the many folk who came to his church never self-righteous or sanctimonious. He would always be blunt and forthright, never straying away from the topic he discussed and always justifying his—rather controversial—views with undeniable proofs that he would find within the scripture itself or whatever religious text he would take the time to read.

Some individuals fail to acknowledge his beliefs and opinions as creed while some listened eagerly and agreed wholeheartedly with what he had to say. In all honesty, it did not matter to the young priest who agreed and disagreed with his teachings—as long as he got his point across none of that ever mattered to him in the long run. If his words reached out to his listeners than good for them—let them be and do what is right, he always said to himself.

He sighed in contentment as he finally placed his pen on his desk and finished his new sermon for tomorrow's prayer—making a noise of satisfaction once he saw that all words were in order and that no mistakes were made. A satisfied grin played on his lips at that, and he briskly closed his notebook and placed it under his arm as he grabbed his pen and tucked it behind his ear. He then stood up from the stool he was sitting on for the better half of the day and stretched his stiff muscles, happy to know that he would be getting some much deserved sleep later on tonight, but jumped when he heard a disturbance come from within the main hall of the church.

The stout man frowned and walked towards the small coat hanger that held his jacket and proceeded to put it on before edging near the door of his private study—fantastic, he thought, probably some thugs trying to steal gold from the confessional table again. The priest clutched the knob, turning it slowly as he pushed the door aside and scanned the area for any thieves or troublemakers who threatened the sanctity of this venerable house. He surveyed the pews and aisles that lined the church for any suspicious activity, observing the pulpit that stood in the altar before lurching in surprise when he heard a clamoring sound come from the shadows.

"Reveal yourself," he said whilst exiting the room completely. "Lest you anger me more than which is necessary."

Another noise followed by a flirtatious voice that seemed to echo throughout the corridors. "My, my, Father..." the voice teased. "When did you develop such an articulate vocabulary?"

The preacher felt his ears perk and eyes widen once he recognized the femininity of the voice and the accent it held, he grumbling a curse of sorts as he stomped toward the middle of the church and searched for the evil that lurked within the room. This woman... no... This **demon** has been driving him up the wall to no end since he had first encountered her weeks prior. She was no ordinary creature of Hell—she far more sturdy and formidable than the scant of amounts of devils he has had to ward off in his day. This particular demon was powerful, intelligent, sinfully beautiful and downright infuriating to deal with, this bitch finding some kind of way to infiltrate his church despite the precautions he routinely took to keep her out. He has no idea as to why she pesters him so but at this point, he cares very little as to what her reasons may be—driving her away or, better yet, killing her were the only two options he had to get her to leave him alone.

"What the hell are you doing back here, Rachel!?" he shouted. "Didn't I make it clear not to ever show your face around here again!?"

She giggled. "Now _that's_ the Ragna I know and love..."

Ragna crossed his arms as he watched the demon materialize before him, her body rising from the shadows that littered the church and revealing the being that he despised so very much. The woman was small, barely clearing five feet with skin so white it was nearly transparent while her slitted eyes shined such a bright ruby red, he could swear those currant pits held the miserable souls of her victims. A burgundy corset dress adorned her curvaceous figure, frill and bow accenting her womanhood and reminding the priest to lower his gaze in her presence so as not to be tempted into sin by her body alone. Rachel stalked towards Ragna, she swaying her hips with each step she made before getting close enough to place her dainty hands on the stout youth's chest. He growled her way while she merely smiled up at him, her body leaning against his own and ample breasts pressing against his stomach.

"Always so belligerent when you see me, Father. All I want to do is pay my services to your humble little church." she said. "Is that really so bad?"

Ragna scoffed and pushed the woman off of him, ignoring her flabbergasted look of indignation. "How did you even manage to come inside? I lined the church with enough seals to keep damned spirits like you out of here."

"Oh? You mean these? I was wondering what they were..." She pulled out a crumpled piece of brown paper from her dress' pocket and presented it to him. "I thought I made it clear that no such relics are able to deter me away from here, Father." The seal soon caught fire in her palm, the paper burning into red ember and then to black ash before sifting through the gaps of her fingers and landing on the carpeted floor. "Or, dare I say, from _you_ ~..."

"Tsk..." The priest sucked in his teeth and turned his back to her as he walked over to the communion table at the altar. He heard Rachel follow, she catching up to him and rubbing circles around his back with a dainty hand as she laughed silently to herself. "What the fuck is it that you want from me now?" he asked.

"Is it not obvious?" Rachel questioned. "I have taken interest in you."

"Interest?" Ragna reached for a vial of holy water and a small silver cross that hung on a necklace, the much older woman looking on contently. "The fuck does that even mean, "interest"? What, you branded me as your next victim to suck the life out of?"

"Foolish little boy..." she laughed and used her sorcery to lift her feet off the ground and float to his height. "If I desired to feast on you I would have done so already. Unlike the majority of my kind, I have at least _some_ self restraint."

"Than why are you here?" he asked again, his patience wearing thin and his grip on the sacred items in his hand growing tighter. He was tempted to throw the holy water her way, watch her burn under its spiritual properties and run her out of his life, but he knew that she would only shrug off such an attack—dousing her with holy water would be just as useful as chucking regular well water at her. He contemplated whether to throw caution to the wind and attempt to do so, but decided against it soon after, relaxing his hold on the vial—he will just have to bless more water with an even stronger prayer when he gets the chance.

"Like I said, I have taken an interest in you." she continued, the woman wrapping her arms around his neck as she kissed his temple gently. "I have grown attracted to you, Father... Perhaps even smitten by you."

"How cute. The demon wants to fuck me..." Ragna spat.

"Such a crude word..." she sighed. "It is not as simple as me just wanting to lay you for a single night."

"Then what the hell else do you call it?"

"I am a very selfish girl, Father..." Rachel kissed him again and fiddled with the elaborate cross that was stitched to the front of his stole. "And I am not privy at all to the idea of sharing any partner who interests me, so please..." she kissed him again on his neck and lapped at his pulse point, the younger man shifting uncomfortably. "Will you mate with me and become mine for all of eternity, Ragna?"

Ragna's eyes widened as he shook Rachel off of him, sending the demon tumbling to the ground and land harshly on her bottom with a loud thump. The priest then proceeded to walk around her body, completely ignoring the other's cry of bewilderment as he headed straight towards the church's door. This woman was more insane than she had initially let on—why, just _why_ would she even ask him such an absurd question? Him fornicate with a demon? There is not enough punishment in the world for him that would convince his Lord to forgive him for such a grave sin!

"Impudent brat...!" Rachel stood up from the floor and watched her target stomp away from her, the vampire glowering at the priest from behind. "May I ask what that was for? That is no way how you treat a lady, you hooligan!"

"You're far from any lady that I know of!" Ragna kept moving and looked over his shoulder, glaring daggers at the demon before yelling, "And there is no way on this Earth or in any afterlife will you ever have the chance to have me as "your's", wench! Not in a million years!"

"Hmph..." Rachel saw the clear vexation and annoyance on his face and glided along the floor to a nearby shadow that stood by a stained-glass window. "Stubborn as usual. I should have expected this from a mangy dog like you... All bark and no bite." she smirked at the disgruntled youth and proceeded to merge into the dark corner, her spirit unbroken by his obvious fit of outrage as a new plan in her mind began to surface. "Believe it if you will, Father, but you shall become mine. Hell or high water, I will get you to submit to me..." she sunk into the darkness, leaving only the ominous glow of her red eyes in her wake before they disappeared as well.

Ragna scoffed at her threat and proceeded to leave the church at once, stuffing his notebook in his pocket as he bolted down the walkway. Anything that she does will not and will never work on him—he was not an idiot nor was he some desperate sex fiend easily tempted to such a debauched act. That woman will use every trick in the book to get to him, but if there was one thing Ragna had, it was perseverance, and he knew better than to ever be tricked or tempted into sleeping with a vampire or let alone any other woman until he was actually eloped.

He sighed as he neared his village's town center and observed the many cottages, stores and libraries that stood and rubbed the bridge of his nose. God willing, he shall overcome this difficult time of his and set that demon straight—such a task it would be to actually get her to leave him be, but it would be a feat nonetheless.

"Ugh... Shit, I'm tired..." he grumbled.

Right now, he just needs a nice, strong glass of whiskey and a good night's rest to get the image of that blasted woman's conniving face out of his head.

* * *

It was a cold, dark and grey Sunday morning, droplets of rain falling on the windows of the church as Ragna delivered his sermon of the day, the many worshipers who sat within the pews eagerly listening to the young priest's oration. The crowd seemed happy enough—they contently listening to the divine words that fell from Ragna's mouth in a consecrated symphony while occasionally browsing through their respective bibles to recite along with him upon each holy verse that he uttered. All was right amongst his visitors and none of them looked perturbed in the slightest, all enjoying their times at the humble little church.

Ragna on the other hand was extremely anxious.

Throughout the majority of his sermon, Ragna found himself occasionally looking up from his paper and expecting Rachel and her devious eyes to be loitering somewhere near the door, silently scheming to get her hands on him. That little witch's threat has been stuck in his head since his encounter with her the night before, the demon's round face and full figure appearing in his dreams and tempting him to copulate with her. He was not the most avid fan of alcohol, but soon Ragna found himself downing five shots of Hennessy just to get her out of his mind, and nearly came late to the church earlier this morning because of how hungover and tired he was. She has become the bane of his existence to his once humble and chaste life, and was making his life a living hell. He was nearly running out of options of he could drive her out of his church since she always figuring out some sort of way to come inside, and it was driving him up the wall. He himself was surprised that he was reciting as well as he was without stumbling on a word or messing up a verse.

No matter, Ragna had thought as he flipped to the last page of his lecture. After he is done with this sermon, he will just need to prepare something more potent and effective to keep her out, or, if push comes to shove, physically apprehend her himself if she gets to be too much of a problem. It was usually against his morals to harm a woman, but that wench was indeed no human female—just another hellspawn taking after the illusion of one just to lure him into her trap.

Ragna grumbled quietly under his breath as he closed his notebook that held his speech before ending his sermon with a quick prayer. It did not take very long—perhaps taking a good minute or two to recite—and soon dismissed the church with a curt "amen". He then stepped down from his podium and made a beeline to his study as the people stood from their seats and began to socialize or give charity. Until they all leave he will just sit in his private room for awhile and take a quick rest to clear his head—he still had a bit of headache from last night, so it was best to lie down than to stick around any longer.

That plan was soon foiled however when he heard the very fast and very loud pitter-patter of Mary Jane clad feet scramble towards him. He needed not to turn around to see who it was after him, and grunted when he felt a body run into his back and two sleeve covered arms embrace him in a big hug. He sighed, and tried facing the over-excited teenager to her off of him.

"Good morning, Tao..." he mumbled.

"Good morning, Good Guy!" she replied with five times the exuberance than any normal human should have. She let go of the priest as he turned around to look at her, the girl beaming happily at him as he did so.

"Again with the nickname?" Ragna frowned and gently admonished her. "We've been over this, Tao. It's either "Father" or "Father Ragna". How many times do I gotta tell you that?"

"Oop!" Tao put her hands over her mouth and corrected herself soon after. "Good morning, Father Good Guy!" she cheered. "How are you today? Meow!"

Ragna shook his head in defeat and placed his hands on his hips, he staring at her in minor discontentment. This was Taokaka, an energetic and polite—if not naive—young teen who lived on the outskirts of town in a tiny village with her family not too far away from the church. Ragna always found her and her little clan of cat-lovers to be rather... peculiar, to put it lightly. It was all mostly because of their obsession with anything feline related. The family made it a habit to stitch cat ears to hoods (which often obscured their faces), tape fake tails to dresses and pants, and replace nasal consonants with "meow" or some sort of cat pun. They were strange, and definitely did not fail in having a few heads turn their way, but they were good people and often visited the church when they had the time. Ragna liked them strangely enough and they did as well, the priest recalling when the Kaka family actually invited him over to their village for dinner a few times.

"Whatever..." Ragna grimaced, amazed by how utterly simple this girl could be. "What is it this time?" he inquired. "You gotta question for me about today's lecture?"

"Nothing really, meow," Tao shrugged. "Tao just wanted to say that Good Guy's speech-thingy was really good today!"

"Oh really?" The priest blinked in surprise and smirked down at her as he rubbed the back of his head. It was rare that he ever got a compliment about his sermons, especially if it was Tao of all people praising it. "That's nice of you to say, Tao. Thanks."

"Mmhmm!" she nodded her head and lifted her arms up in the air. "It lulled me right to sleep! I haven't had a good nap like that for awhile, meow!"

Ragna's smile fell when he heard the other's revelation and glared at her. "Thanks for the compliment..." he spat. "If you don't having anything else to say, " he began. "I'm gonna go now."

Tao jumped and grabbed Ragna by the arm. "Wait, Good Guy!" she shouted. "I gotta ask ya somethin'!"

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"When Tao was dozing off, she noticed that Good Guy was acting really out of it." she pouted. "Is everything alright, meow? Did something happen?"

Ragna lowered his head and contemplated whether or not to actually tell someone about his little issue, but chose to just keep it to himself for now. Tao was just too callow to truly understand the weight of his situation, and opted to just reassure the girl that he was alright than to either worry or upset her.

"It's nothing, Tao," he told her, wedging his arm out of her grasp. "I've just been a little tired these days. Running this place and all is a lot of work." he smiled a little. "I haven't been getting a lot of sleep is all."

"Oh no!" Tao gasped. "That sounds awful, Good Guy! You can't just postpone sleep! Sleep is good for you, meow!" she seemed livid, her eyes narrowing and teeth gnashing together. "You can get sick from not going to bed on time! You should come to the village and take a nap with me and the kittens when you get the chance so we can fix that!"

"I'll be fine, Tao. Quit worrying so much." he laughed as he patted her head and smooshed the fake ears attached to her hood. Out of all the things Tao could get worried about, it had to be sleep of all things. How typical, he thought. "You should run along now. Torakaka looks like she's waiting for you."

"Ah!" Tao turned around and saw her dearly beloved cousin, Torakaka, standing around and talking to one of the other members of their clan. "Then I guess I better go than... I hope you feel better, Good Guy!" she waved at him before running off to where Tora was, her tail swishing in the wind with each step she made.

Ragna waved back and watched Taokaka hop in place when she appeared before her cousin and proceeded to run circles around her. As much of a dope Tao was, she was one of the most caring individuals he knew, and that's saying something considering the people he had the misfortune of being around half the time. The priest huffed through his nose as he proceeded to walk to his study, fingers massaging his temples as his head began to pound.

A nap really _does_ sound good right about now.

But as Ragna finally walked to the inside of his workroom, eyes droopy and mouth yawning, the young pastor was too tired to be aware of a certain demon who floated high above his church, her bottom resting comfortably on a wooden beam as she used her sorcery to remain invisible from mortal eyes.

Rachel has been watching him since he had first arrived this morning and has not left since—she too attracted by the sculpted hunk of man that was Ragna to keep her eyes off of him. She wanted his everything—his very _soul_ even. But most importantly, she wanted nothing more than to have him as her lover—forever bonded to her until either of them died. He was beautiful in every way, shape and form from those shimmering, defiant bright pools of shamrock that were his eyes to the messy, dirty blonde mane that was his hair.

For two months she has been idly watching and toying with Ragna, silently hoping that he would reciprocate her feelings if only a little, but all of her attempts at flirtation and titillation have remained futile and it was infuriating her. She wanted to claim every bit of what he was and have it for herself—to be able to crush his resolve whenever she wanted, to take his body whenever she wanted, and twist that wonderfully dogged attitude of his into something far more dangerous whenever she wanted.

The ghoul licked her lips at the thought of what she could do to Ragna once he was hers and felt a devious plan come to mind. Since he is so dedicated to his religious creed, she is just going to have to stoop to more drastic, more serious measures to get his submission...

Rachel jumped off of the support beam and gracefully landed on the ground, her presence unnoticed by the other humans, and allowing the young woman to freely walk around the church. She then inspected the building from top to bottom—scrutinizing every nook and cranny for any defects in the interior, but huffed through her nose when she found none.

If she was going to do this, she was going to do this right. If her weeks of stalking around this pitiable village has taught her anything, Ragna was a very light sleeper and was able to wake up in an instant if he sensed that anything in the church was out of line, so she needed to work quickly. Rachel continued searching the walls and naves for any rickety, unsteady object until she spotted something hanging from the ceiling.

It was a chandelier that hung loosely from its screws, and next to it was the support beam she was sitting on—the wood rotting and looking ready to break any second.

The vampire grinned happily and raised her hand, letting lightning charge through her fingertips. With a little collateral damage and a few sparks here and there, she will have Ragna right in the palm of her hand. It was a liberating and odd feeling, falling in love, and she was enjoying every minute of it. Ragna was her drug, and she was an addict—she will do anything to get that stubborn little boy to be her lover, even if that meant killing him in the process.

She will force him to love her.

* * *

Ragna kept his head buried in his arms, his eyes closed tight and mouth opened wide—light snores the only audible noise in his room. Everything was peaceful for once—the church was now emptied out, no lustful vampire was trying to jump his bones, and now he was able to take the nap he so desperately needed today. He can work on cleaning up the aisles and sweeping the floors later, because as of now, that could be put aside for later tonight when he was properly rested.

The priest stirred a little in his dreamless sleep however when his ears picked up the sound of clutter that came from the main hallway. It was not enough to wake him up, but it did warrant a groan out of him and render him to bury his face deeper into his arms. A few moments past and he just continued to lay there, his sleep undeterred for what seemed like hours until a large booming collision shook the floor beneath Ragna's feet and prompted the priest to jump from his place. He looked distraughtly around his room for any items that were in disarray before standing up from his chair and darting for the door of his study, he quickly busting through the wooden frame to investigate the commotion, but instantly covered his mouth in shock when he witnessed the scene around him.

The church was up in flames. The windows smashed in, curtains catching fire and disintegrating into black ash while the wooden foundation that the church was literally built on was falling apart. Ragna was left completely aphonic by the disaster before him and felt the questions in his head on how such destruction could have happen run a mile a minute. How did this happen? Who could have done this? Why would anyone do such a thing?

How was he going to get out?

Ragna's eyes searched frantically for the exit of the church until he finally caught sight of the entrance. He hopelessly ran down the aisle as he dodged miniature fires that danced across the carpeted floor, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a giant painting of Christ that hung above the door drop from the wall and collide with the floor, effectively blocking his only way out. He gasped in a mix of shock and anxiety and backed away from the burning portrait slowly as smoke welled into his lungs, causing the man to choke on the black soot. He gripped at his throat in response with one hand and coughed loudly, unaware of the lingering presence of Rachel who stood near the shaky chandelier and stared at Ragna longingly. She narrowed her eyes and curled her lip as she used her fingers to unhinge the few screws that kept the decorative plethora of lights hanging and watched it fall from the ceiling at a an exponential rate.

It crushed Ragna's body in a single blow.

The demon struggled to suppress her laughter as she listened to Ragna's pained screams and stifled breathing. His suffering music to her ears and somehow igniting a heat within her belly. She witnessed the priest's pathetic flailing for a few more moments before teleporting in front of him—feigning innocence as she mulled over his disfigured form.

"My goodness!" she cried, kneeling in front of the injured man. "How could this have happened?"

Ragna coughed up a splatter of blood from his mouth as shattered glass dug into his body and punctured his insides. He glared daggers at the woman above him and shook her hand off of him when he saw her try to touch his shoulder.

"Back the hell off me...!" he growled threateningly.

Rachel scoffed at the man before her and said, "To be so rude when you are on the brink of death... You truly _do_ want to die, do you not? I come here to see if you are alright, and this is the thanks I get?"

"Don't you fucking lie to me!" he barked. "You caused this damn fire, didn't you!?"

The demon cocked her head in intrigue and smirked lowly at her soon to be lover. "And so what if I did?" she laughed. "You are far too weak to wedge yourself out from under there, and judging by the state of your little house of God..." she dodged a falling pillar and giggled happily. "You don't seem to have much time left~. I wonder what your other remaining options are?"

"You bitch..." Ragna gritted his teeth and cursed her name. "I'd never...ever want to be saved by filth like you... I'd rather die here in this church than to have some godforsaken demon save my life."

"Oh...?" Rachel's brow twitched in annoyance as her calm demeanor began to waver. " **That's just too bad then**..." she grabbed Ragna by his chin roughly and turned his head to the side to reveal his neck, the man trying to fight against her but she too strong to get her off of him.

"What the fuck are you trying to pull!?" he shouted, still trying to free himself from her grasp.

"I never said you had a choice in this matter..." she popped two very long, needle-like fangs from between her lips and lowered herself to his exposed flesh. "You belong to me and only me, I shall have you in both life and death, and there is **nothing** you can do about it."

It was then that it finally occurred to Ragna just exactly what this woman was planning to do to him, and instantly tried to pull her hand away from his chin, but found it to be of no use. He shivered in fear when he felt the coolness of her breath brush over his neck and groaned quietly to himself in revulsion when those ridiculously sharp canines grazed his skin.

The fangs sank into his flesh like butter, her teeth piercing an artery and freely allowing blood to seep from the new puncture wound and leak into the witch's mouth. Minutes passed as Rachel kept drinking from his neck, Ragna struggling to keep his eyes open as his hands and feet went numb and his mind started to blur.

It was then that his vision suddenly went black.

* * *

When he had awoken, everything had felt like a dream, as if his very soul was floating out of his body.

Ragna slowly opened his eyes as frigid winds assaulted his naked body—his cassock stripped from his muscled physique and leaving him only in his undergarments. The young man groaned wearily at the uncomfortable sensation and tried to move himself out of the way of the unbearable cold, but felt his movements be heavily restricted by something rough, metallic and rusty that were looped around his wrists and ankles.

Chains...?

Ragna shook his head from side to side to rid himself of the grogginess that fogged his brain, and started to struggle against the thick restraints wildly, but found it all to be of no avail. He roared in frustration and tried searching for a way out of whatever place he was in until he heard a cocky, aristocratic voice of sheer haughtiness tease him for his efforts of escaping.

"There is no use in struggling, Father." it said. "The more you do, the less pleasant this will be for either of us."

"You..." Ragna squinted his eyes to look at the woman who bound him against this wall and shouted, "Where the fuck did you take me, Rachel!? Let me go already, dammit!"

She tittered. "You act as though you actually have a say in what happens to you... How quaint." Rachel laughed once more as she walked from the shadows that kept her obscured from Ragna's sight and simpered happily. "Good evening, my dear boy." she smiled.

"Where..." he stuttered. "Where the hell did you take me? How long have I been here!?"

"You're currently in the dungeons of my abode." she replied calmly. "I have kept you down here for a fortnight or so. It takes some time before the changes start to take effect."

"T-two weeks...?" His memories were still a bit hazy, but he could feel the impression of teeth in his neck from when she first bit him. He had that familiar sense of panic well in his chest just like when he saw his beloved church crumble to ash, and felt almost like vomiting. It was disgusting, near vile thought for him to think about turning into a creature who forever lurked in the night, and he could see all of his past memories as a human already fly through his head at breakneck speed, as if they were all just vivid dreams from a short night's rest.

Ragna suddenly felt a bout of vertigo barrage his senses and had to close his eyes shut for a moment. Everything was happening too fast for him to truly understand the weight of his situation, and how this woman, this _monster_ , has effectively ruined his life.

He didn't want to be a demon.

Rachel watched the other's silent lamentation apathetically as she took her chance to edge closer to the despaired lad. She bit her lip when she came close to him and knelt down to where he was on the solid rock of the dungeon's floor and turned his face her way by grabbing his chin. He kept his eyes closed, unable to look this bitch dead in the face for the hatred he felt toward her was overwhelming.

"Such a piteous look you hold, Father." she teased. "It really does want to make me gobble you up in one bite~"

Ragna refused to humor her statement with a response and tried moving away from her grasp but felt her hold grow tighter, and heard a hiss come out of her mouth that was so dreadfully soaked in poisonous obsession, he could feel hopelessness and fear almost instantly run down his spine in a single static shock.

"I know that you still do not feel the same way," she stated. "But I promised myself that I will make you love me..." She used her other hand to undo the the frilly ties and unfasten the buttons in her dress to reveal her bare, upper body to him. "Our first night shall be rocky of course, but I assure you that as the days go by," She completely stripped out of her clothes and proceeded to strip Ragna of his underwear. "Our evenings together shall be wondrous joy."

He wanted to resist—he should be doing so just protect the shred of modesty he had left, but he could not bring himself to do so. It was as if his muscles had shut down all at once, the young man at the complete mercy of this woman as she violated him in ways that he had hoped would never become a reality to him. She had stimulated him, laid him down on the cold, dank floor of the to sheathe his length within her dripping sex and shuddered repugnantly when he felt the sins of pleasure brought upon by this witch course through his body in delightfully revolting jolts. Rachel was moaning loudly despite it supposedly being her first time, and kept praising and praising how endowed he was—as if his body was a gift from the heavens themselves.

Ragna was honestly confused. He was not sure whether or not it would be better to die than to ever love this woman, or kill her and risk his life in the process. He was perplexed, worried, anxious and downright disgusted with himself as he laid against the stone walls of his prison, pitifully allowing this girl to have her way with him and take the only thing that he had left as a human with her, and that being his virginity.

It was then that his vision went black again and he could feel the bitter, gut-wrenching sensation of release well in his loins, the urge to orgasm growing stronger and stronger until he came with a hitched breath.

At this point, all he could do was pray.


	3. Apocalypse Now (Disaster Horror)

**I do not own Blazblue.**

 **Official first entry for the fic based around the end of the world. Please keep in mind this borders between humor and dark humor, so don't get offended. Bang x Bullet ahead.**

* * *

It all started when the sirens began to wail.

There was no time for preparation, and no time to rationalize it. The kicking of dust and the trembling of the Earth was all she really needed to find refuge and for the whole world to go into mass panic. Looters raided stores, killers stole lives, and survivors shook in fear, but she has prepared herself far too long to be shaken by the collapse of society. She evaded the violence on the streets, ducked from falling debris and fought her way through the crowds of screaming bystanders until she had finally arrived at the block of her house, exhausted and covered from head to toe in scratches and bruises.

She slowed down only a tad once she rounded the corner of her house so she could catch her breath, ignoring the sweat dripping from her body and soaking through her shirt as she slowly started to take in the situation in full. She panted heavily as she peered up at the sky, azure blue already fading to a filthy orange as toxic smoke and soot polluted the air and poisoned the atmosphere. It wouldn't take long until the whole world was covered from head to toe in sickened ash, and she wasn't going to be one of the poor bastards to see it. Not yet anyway.

The young soldier growled determinedly as she hopped over the gate leading to the back of her house and bolted towards the iron cellar doors obscured by the contents of her yard. She kneeled down and frantically wiped the grass and dirt away from the bolted doors before finally uncovering a dirtied pin-pad. She guided her finger to the first numbered button she saw and quickly punched in the code to unlock the shelter, her hand moments away from grabbing the steel handle to let herself in until a harrowing thought came to mind that stopped her immediately.

There were people she knew who would without a doubt get trapped in this madness. People she loved, people she bonded with who she wished the best of luck to with all her heart, but there was still one person she could save, who she needed to save. She had more than enough supplies and rations for up to five people to live off of for years for this very purpose. There was no reason she couldn't fetch him.

She had to try for both of their sakes.

Standing back on her feet, the young woman kicked the dirt back over the doors before bolting to the streets again, her eyes narrowed and lips set in a firm line as she leaped over deserted cars and wrestled her way once more through dazed civilians. Her only hope was that he didn't get himself killed by now considering his policy of peace before war when things got hairy. That dolt knew how to get himself in trouble without even doing anything it seemed.

She raced downtown in what felt like seconds and ignored the perilous destruction that the war had already done to the city. Sidewalks and paved streets were smashed and cracked open, buildings were lit ablaze and crumbling to the ground while cars sped and fled, mowing down panicked civilians and crashing into clumps of debris in their haste. The sight of it all did little to terrify her for it only prepared her further for what the future was to become in no less than a few days. This was reality now, and there was no one who can stop it.

If anything, she was getting more angry at the hordes of people bumping into her and stepping on her feet as they tried to escape then any sort of apocalypse. She was more than rational enough not to bite anyone's heads off for even thinking to run into her unprovoked, but it was certainly more than a little irksome to deal with sore feet just so she could fetch the one guy.

Until the one unruly criminal decided it would be a good idea to take advantage of the crowded area by grabbing her ass and holding a knife to her throat.

 **That** was when she got pissed.

"Goddammit, I am NOT in the mood for this shit right now!"

Without even thinking, the young officer reared her leg back and smashed her knee deep into the thug's gut as hard as she could, watching the petty assaulter crumple to the ground in a quivering heap before finally allowing herself to go on her way to the location of her friend's job.

The sooner she got to him, the sooner her mood would elevate, and fuck was she ten seconds away from mauling the first person who even _dared_ to look at her funny right now.

"Bang, you better be alive, or so help me...!"

"BULLET!"

Bullet stopped dead in her tracks and spun around once she heard that loud, boastful voice she knew all too well shout her name and saw the man that came along with. There he was running frantically at her, his hair free from its tie and clad in nothing but black hakama that was slowly turning into a dark grey thanks to all the dirt on the ground, looking as if he was about to burst out crying just from having to deal with being outside for more than five minutes. He ran at her with both his arms stretched out towards her until he was close enough to bring her into a bone crushing hug that did little to help her sore body but made her heart flutter a little at the affection.

"Oh, Bullet, I prayed and prayed with all my might you didn't pass on into the great aether!" He shouted as he rubbed a stubbled cheek into her messy hair. "But I'm here to keep you safe now!"

Her face mashed directly into his sweaty pecs, she could do no more than utter a muffled greeting. "Nice to see you, too, Bang..." She groaned out as she brought her hands to his biceps to signal for him to let go. "But suffocating me isn't exactly keeping me safe..."

"Ah!" Bang let go of the younger girl and rubbed his head as he gave her a relieved smile. "My apologies, but I was just so glad to see a familiar face!"

"Where did you run off to? I was just about to kill myself barging into your dojo to find you!" It was the first place Bullet would look since Bang was an instructor there, but thank God she didn't go too far and put her life in even more danger.

"I—I was there, but I left for lunch once my lessons were over. When I came back, the dojo was already up in flames!" He cried out. "Oh Lord, Bullet, what are we gonna do!? How are we going to survive, what if we die right he—Ow!"

She slapped him and shook his shoulders. "We're gonna survive by not dying!" She shouted. "It's the end of the world and all, but there's no rule that says we have to die as soon as shit hits the fan!"

"B-But—"

She slapped him again.

"Ouch!"

"No buts! I have a way out of this, but I need you to stay calm!"

"But it's hard to stay calm when the world is fall—"

She showed him the back of her hand and gave him a pensive glare.

Bang didn't want to take his chances. "Okay, okay, what's the plan!?"

"I have a bunker with enough supplies to last us for years. We need to run as fast as we can before anyone gets to it, and I mean fast, do you hear me?"

Bang mulled over her words and nodded stiffly. "Yes, I understand—hold on, you have a bunker? When did you get a bunk—?"

Bullet slapped him once more.

"What did I do that time!?"

"Never mind why I have one, that's why!" She yelled and grabbed his wrist. "C'mon, we gotta go!"

"R-Right...!" Bang rubbed his stinging cheek with his free hand and followed after Bullet.

The pair ran down the sidewalk as fast their feet could carry them, their combined agility and stamina helping them avoid the chaos surrounding them and allowing for them to punch (for Bullet's case) their way through the crowds that kept them away from their retreat until they finally arrived at the side of Bullet's house. They staggered over the gate of her backyard and stumbled across the grass until they stood over the bunker's doors, Bang already slumped over and grabbing his knees as he took large gulps of air to catch his breath.

"This is it...?" He groaned out.

"Yeah." Bullet grunted as she grabbed both steel handles and pried the doors open in one strong pull, revealing to both of them a dark, metallic rectangular-shaped hole and a ladder that led down to its depths. "You go first. I gotta lock up on the way down."

"Yes, ma'am..." Bang trudged past Bullet and climbed down, making sure to take his time while also keeping an eye on her.

"Be careful up there!" He called out.

"Easier said than done!" She said back when the sound of a whistling bomb in the distance forced her to hurry up and climb down as well. She shimmied her way inside but not before taking hold of the second set of handles located on the insides of the doors and pulling them shut.

It was now pitch black and cold compared to the heated destruction happening outside, which made her feel a lot safer now that they were tucked down here for the time being.

"Man, I can't see a thing..." She climbed further down the latter but stopped when she felt Bang's face collide with her backside. "You're not down yet, Bang?"

"Mm...!" He quickly moved his face away from her behind and blushed furiously. "N-No, not yet..."

"Why was your face in my butt?" She asked.

"I-It's so dark I wanted to take my time is all!" He replied. "I didn't think you would come down so fast... I'm sorry..."

"Why get so flustered? It's just a butt."

"I-It is not just a butt!"

"Then what else is it then?"

"Well, It's...It's **your** butt!" He didn't know how else to word that Bullet had a very impressive sized and shapely backside without confusing her considering how dense she is.

"What's wrong with my butt?"

"N-Nothing's wrong with your butt!"

"..."

"Bullet?"

"Are you saying I have a big butt, Bang?"

"That is **not** what I said!"

"Then what else are you trying to say?"

"I'm not trying to say anyth—" It was at that moment that Bang, in all his embarrassed glory, missed a step on the ladder and went tumbling down to the floor.

"AHHH!"

Bullet cringed when she heard him land with a loud splat. She sighed and placed both of her hands and feet on the sides of the ladder to slide down and get to him faster. The last thing she wanted was for him to crack his head open and leak brain juice everywhere.

"Are you okay, Bang?" She asked once she hit the ground.

"I'm fine..." He grunted a little as he sat up to rub his head. "Now just aching a little."

"You'll walk it off then." She maneuvered herself to an adjacent wall and moved her hands along the surface for a light switch until her fingers brushed over one just below her chest. She wasted no time flipping it, and after a couple moments the light fixtures above flickered gently until a bright light illuminated the room and finally allowed both persons to see.

The bunker was a lot bigger than what Bang expected it to be and what Bullet remembered it being.

Shelves upon shelves of food and beverage lined the walls from top to bottom, a queen-sized bed was situated against a corner, and in the middle was a TV, a shelf full of tapes and a small sofa.

"Wow..." Bang got up from his spot on the floor and surveyed the room as he massaged his tailbone. If everything wasn't so enclosed and metallic, the shelter in of itself looked like any old living room minus a few anomalies like hanging gas masks and radiation suits.

It was safe to say Bullet was a little more than prepared for the apocalypse.

"At the risk of receiving yet another slap," Bang joked as he steadily approached Bullet. "But how did you acquire the necessary funds to get a bunker this big?"

"Saved up." Bullet wiped the sweat off her brow and wandered to the middle of the room to sit down on the sofa. "When I moved here after being discharged from the army, I was a little paranoid, so I got a shovel and went straight to work. Only took a year or so to build."

"A year? That's **very** impressive if you built it in under a year! How did you do it?"

"Mexicans." She stated bluntly.

Bang laughed awkwardly at that. "Is that...right?"

"I couldn't do all the work, so I paid a bunch of 'em to measure out the hole I dug up and everything. They'll pretty much let you spit in their mouths if you got the dough for it."

"Bullet!" Bang admonished loudly. "How could you say something so brash!?"

"What, it's true isn't it!?" Bullet shouted back. "Why do you think they're wetbacks? They don't have the money to buy boats, so how else do they get here?"

Bang smacked a hand over his face and shook his head. "I swear, I fail to see where you get that mindset of your's from..."

"I do know something though."

"What's that?" He asked

"I could reaaally go for some Taco Bell now." She rubbed her stomach and sunk further into the couch.

"Don't you think it is a tad late for that?"

"Oh yeah, it is most likely vaporized by now." She turned around in her seat to reach for a box of what looked like cookies on the shelf behind her. "So we'll just have to eat whatever is in here."

"Seems like a sound idea." Bang felt his stomach grumble as well. It's been awhile since he's eaten anything and with the massive panic he had experience earlier, he had almost forgotten how hungry he was. "What do you have to eat down here, if you do not mind me asking?"

"Lot's of stuff." She roughly tore open the box and stuck her hand inside. "Animal crackers, fruit roll-ups, Twinkies, Sno Balls, coffee cakes, donuts, all of the essentials."

"...What?"

"You heard me." She pulled out a sandwich cookie and stared at Bang as if he had grown two heads. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You only brought **junk food** down here!?"

"Hey, hey, it ain't junk if it tastes good!" She reached for a pastry cake from the shelf behind her without even looking and tossed it at him so he could catch it. "Put that in your mouth and tell me that isn't feel good food."

Bang caught it one hand and anxiously stared at the fattening snack cake before setting his sights back on Bullet again. "We don't need feel good food, Bullet! We need actual nutrient rich **good** food! We cannot just...just...!"

She turned up her lip and crossed her arms. "Just what, Bang?" She bit back.

He threw his arms at his sides as if thinking of what to say. "We can't just...just... **survive** on Hostess fruit pies for however long we need to stay down here!"

"You'd be surprised how convenient they are in the field..."

"Bullet!"

"What!?"

"I thought you of all people would keep military rations or ready-to-eat food stored down here!"

"They taste like shit, Bang!" She retorted. "Do **you** like the taste of cardboard? Do **you** wanna be shitting bricks for a week? I don't think so!"

"It is all the same if we eat junk!"

"I said it's not junk!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!

"Is **TOO!"**

"Is fuckin' **NOT** , and I'll prove it!" Bullet took a huge bite out of the treat in her hand but felt her lips pucker and her eyes bulge out of her head when she tasted the sour vanilla creme between the two weirdly soft chocolate cookies.

She immediately spat it out. "Ugh, gross!"

"What's the matter?" Bang inquired.

"These cookies tastes like old milk!" She grimaced and brought the box over her head to look for the expiration date. "Oh, no wonder. These expired about a year ago."

"A year ago?"

"Yeah. Ol' gnarly box of shit cookies. I'll just get another one."

Bang watched her reach for another snack which was a canister of potato crisps. She took off the plastic lid and pulled the paper seal back to fetch a chip but not before glancing at the black text printed on the inside of the lid.

"Aw man! Says here the pringles expired, too!"

Bang was getting gradually suspicious. "Pringles...?"

"Oh well. They're salt and vinegar anyway. I didn't even notice. Well, might as well get—"

"Wait, Bullet..."

She turned to look at him. "What is it?"

"When was the last time you brought food down here?"

Bullet pondered for a moment until she gave an answer. "About a year ago, wh—Ohhhh..."

The older man's eyes went wide as the gravity of their situation began to weigh on him. Here they both were, trapped in a bunker with expired food and beverage with little to no access to the outside world at the moment.

Bang wanted to scream.

He wanted to tear his hair out.

He wanted to panic.

"Bullet."

For the first time ever he saw a small glimmer of anxiety in her eye as soon as he called her name.

"Yeah, Bang...?"

"Can you please answer me this."

"What is it...?"

"Why did it not occur to you to go get...groceries for this place this year instead of the year before!?"

"Because I thought I would eat it all before the thought of an apocalypse even came to mind!"

"HOW DO YOU EAT EIGHTY POUNDS OF SNACK CAKES IN ONE **YEAR**!?

"I GET HUNGRY!"

"HOW MUCH SUGAR DO YOU EVEN NEED!?

"A LOT APPARENTLY!"

"WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO!?"

Bullet jumped from her spot on the couch and fervently began to look through the shelf behind her.

"Look for all the Twinkies and Ho-Hos you can find!"

Bang gave her a skeptical look. "What...?"

"If there's one thing I learned in the army is that nearly all Hostess brand snacks CAN'T go bad!"

"What!?"

"Don't fucking question me now, just do it! It's like a proven fact or some shit!"

"WHAT!?"

"Say "what" again! I dare you, I double dare you, motherfucker! Say what one more goddamn time, and I'm throwing you outside with the nukes, do I make myself clear!?" Bullet screamed at the top of her lungs as she stuffed cake after sugary cake under her arms.

Bang set his lips in a firm line when the urge to say "what" nearly came to mind and merely nodded.

"Then stop standing there! There's more in the back, so start there!"

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" Bang hurried himself to the back of the bunker and quickly went to work. For what felt like hours and hours of tripping over bottles of orange soda, stomping on boxes of donuts and cookies, and smashing literal bins of potato chips, both Bang and Bullet were able to gather all of the Hostess snacks in a few messy piles that covered both the sofa and the coffee table that stood in front of it.

Bang sat precariously on the arm of the couch as he tried to catch his breath while Bullet made an organized count of all the sweets they currently had at hand by writing down the quantity of each individual product on a small sheet of paper. It took a fairly long time since Bullet seemed to have a particular appreciation for all snacks Hostess seemed to offer, but she was eventually able to write as much as she could down before announcing the rations to Bang.

"Alright," Bullet began as she pointed at the first mound of junk and each mound that followed. "We have thirty packs of Twinkies, fifteen packs of CupCakes, ten packs of Ho-Hos, nineteen packs of Chocodiles, eight packs of Ding Dongs, five packs of Sno Balls and finally..." She glanced at the sheet in her hand briefly before saying anything. "One Zinger."

The martial artist felt his stomach churn once she finished and asked, "And how long do you think this will last us?"

"Well, if we take the five water jugs in the back for consideration, I'd say... Maybe about three weeks?"

"...Longer than I had hoped at least."

"Don't act like that. For all we know, we could last longer than a month."

"It's what I'll certainly be praying for..." Bang felt a catch in his throat and began to wail dramatically. "What if we're done for, Bullet...!?"

"Ah, Bang, don't say that." She crossed over to him to sit next to him on the couch. It was always so hard to console him when he got emotional. It was enough to make her own heart wrench, but considering how comically excessive his blubbering got, it wavered between being both sad and kind of funny sometimes. "I thought you were suppose to protect me?"

He let out a hiccup and nodded once. "I was..."

"I don't think crying over a few Twinkies is my definition of protection, don't you think?"

Bang considered it for a moment before wiping the tears from his shimmering eyes. "Yes, yes, I was suppose to..." He then clenched his fists and regarded the cakes on the floor. Bullet was his best friend, if not his only friend who he would pretty much do anything for, especially since she was a girl. He always made it his duty to make sure she was taken care of, and here he was groveling like a small child who had his toy taken away. Sure she wasn't the most...sensible in the eye of danger sometimes, but she was always so determined to survive in even the most bleakest situations. He supposed that her time in the army and being raised around soldiers certainly helped her be almost impervious to the thought of death.

It was then that the spry and boastful martial artist leaped from the couch and took Bullet along with him by lifting her into his arms, the young soldier taken by surprise at the sudden gesture but relaxed once she saw that big smile on his face she was so use to.

"You know, you are completely right, Bullet!"

"That my food isn't junk?"

"Aside from that!" He laughed. "We **can** survive if we put our minds to it! We just happen to be lacking a few handicaps is all!"

"We're on super hard mode!"

"We're invincible!"

"We kick ass!"

"We can do it!" Bang held her tighter at that and inadvertently mushed her face into his rock hard chest again when he did so.

"Can't breathe again, Bang..." She informed him.

"Oh my apologies again, Bullet!" That same bright smile never left his face as he quickly sat Bullet down on her feet. "What say we have dinner now and rest up for tomorrow!"

"If tomorrow ever **comes**!" Bullet guffawed.

Both friends bellowed in laughter as they picked up a snack and hastily ate away at their evening meal. The rest of the night continued in merry jeers and chuckles, their laughs only growing louder and louder whenever a bomb from the outside collided with the ground and shook the bunker asunder since they now enjoyed laughing in the face of danger a lot more instead of fearing it.

All was well for the two companions throughout their time in the impervious shelter as they passed each day in hysterics and mirthful grins. Not a night went by where they didn't stay close together in the same bed, eat at the same time, or even use the bathroom together for their time in the bunker was meant to be a lively and joyful experience and strengthen their unending relationship.

Nothing could possibly go wrong!

* * *

It has been five weeks since the first atomic bombs of the century were dropped across the world, and a majority of humanity, its culture, and its history is already destroyed.

Half of the Earth's population lays in ruin while the other half still remains either hidden away in overcrowded, disease and famine ridden nuclear shelters or continue to roam the land, exploring the now irradiated, infertile soil for scraps of food and other basic necessities to make living more bearable. Life could not be any more difficult for the men, women, and children that have somehow managed to survive the brutal apocalypse that mankind has brought upon itself, if one could even call this new reality life.

In one of the few bunkers that were still somehow functional laid Bullet and Bang, their bodies flat on the floor and faces planted in the carpet of the metal room that they were currently trapped in. Both friends were still alive and well, though barely, and groaned in unison when their stomachs decided to growl once more for food. Their Hostess supply had dwindled to nothing not even a week ago, and already they were feeling the effects of starvation despite living solely on water for the past six days. It was painful, it was sheer unending agony, but at least they could say one thing.

They survived longer than three weeks.

Bullet weakly rolled onto her side to face Bang and brought a hand to his shoulder to jostle him a little.

"Bang..."

No response.

"Bang..."

Still nothing.

"Baaaang—"

"Wha...?"

"Oh good, you're not dead..."

Bang assumed the same position Bullet was in and coughed. "I ensured myself to stay alive as long as you needed me, too..."

"And so did I..." She sighed a solemn sigh. "But I don't think we have much time left..."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you get it, Bang...?" Bullet groaned. "Once we divided the last Zinger, you should have known that our days were getting shorter.

"Ugh...! But I shall not allow it!"

"Huh...?"

"I promised that I would protect you." He mustered up a weak smile. "And if neither of us cannot survive...then at least one of us should."

Bullet raised a brow. "What are you getting at, Bang?"

"I shall bravely sacrifice myself to you if it means your survival... So please..." He stiffly lifted his arm and presented it to her. "Eat as much as you want, Bullet."

"Bang... I...I can't..."

"Please. My death would be in vain if you were not the one to stay alive out of the both of us."

Bullet was at a lost for words. Never has she ever seen Bang act so selfless before. He's always been so kind and gracious, but this was unbelievably charitable.

The young soldier felt tears come to her eyes.

"Shit, Bang, you're serious..."

"Only for you..."

Bullet wet her dry lips as she scooted just a little closer to Bang and took his hand into her's before nibbling gently on a finger.

"I'll make sure to savor every last bite just for you!"

Bang seemed a little frazzled at how quick she was to eat him and instantly pulled his hand away.

"Y-You didn't even hesitate!?"

"Well, you offered!"

"B-Bullet!"

"If you didn't want me to eat you, why did you give me your arm then!?"

"I...I just thought you would consider it is all!"

"I. Am. Hungry. How could I **not** pass it up?"

"..."

"So, what, we're gonna starve again?"

Bang rolled fully on his back and rubbed his face with one hand. He was close to offering himself again just to be a little courteous until he saw the two yellow hazmat suits from earlier still hanging off of the ceiling which instantly gave him an idea.

"What if we go out onto the surface?" He asked suddenly.

"The surface? And get killed?"

"Of course not," Bang rose from his spot and pointed at the two plastic suits above them. "Do you not have these for **that** very purpose?"

"Oh...Oh! Oh shit, yeah, that's right, I **did** have those! Jeez, how did I forget...?"

"Perhaps we can find some food on the surface if we do!"

"Yeah, good idea!"

"Then let's say we suit up and start our hunt!"

"Ditto!"

And with that, the duo slowly got up from the floor and prepared to brave for the outside. They took the radiation suits down from their hangers and quickly put them on, ensuring every hole was sealed and every gap was pinched shut before placing the matching gas masks over their heads.

Bullet thought the look was funny.

"Heh, we look like aliens." She sniggered, the rounded respirator over her mouth making her voice sound strained.

"Very otherworldly..." Bang added as he looked at his arm and the black nylon glove that covered it. "Do you think we need any weapons?"

"Maybe a few." Bullet replied. "Here, I can find some." She waddled over to the back of the room and opened a hidden drawer. She rummaged through it for a bit and gathered a large amount of steel items and some duct tape in her arms before standing back up and bringing them back over to Bang.

"Pots, pans, and two ladles...?" He asked.

"Pots and pans for armor, ladles for weapons." She stated.

"Do we not have any other more useful weapons?"

I have a gun, but like hell you know how to use one, so I'm keeping it for now."

"F-Fair enough."

"Good. Now let's hurry up and tape this all up before I pass out again."

"Right..." Bang took the duct tape from Bullet's hands and did as he was told. He taped a pot with a handle over her head and two pans on both her back and stomach before handing the roll of tape back to let her do the same to him. The process of it all was short and effective, but in the end they looked less like creepy aliens and more like children on Halloween night with homemade costumes.

"Woah..." Bullet looked down at herself and then at Bang. "We look so badass..." She said in awe.

"If you can call it that..." He sighed and walked over to the ladder that led to the outside. He could only hope that there was no one alive to see the embarrassments of radioactive suits they were wearing.

"I want you to stay behind me." He told Bullet as they began climbing their way up. "Lord only knows what lurks on the surface."

"What do you think is out there?"

"I can't be too sure." He honestly didn't **want** to know, but the curiosity was steadily eating away at him the more he thought about it.

"With there being nukes and all involved in this...you would think it would've mutated a lot of things by now, right?"

"More likely than not."

"...Ninja Turtles." She blurted out

Bang sputtered at the suggestion.

"Ninja Turtles?"

"It's been over a month, there has to be a few running around up there by now."

"Very unlikely, Bullet..."

"Be cool though..." He could practically hear her pouting.

"Let us just focus on getting some supplies and **then** we can worry about whether or not they exist..."

"Whatever."

Bang looked up at the double doors that he had not even dared to face since he first came down here and sucked in a deep breath. This was it, he thought. No turning back now.

"Here we are." He said softly. "Are you ready, Bullet?"

"More than I'll ever be."

"Alright..." Bang turned the knob under the handle slowly, feeling a chill running down his spine once he heard the lock click and carefully pushed the doors open to climb out into the unknown. Almost immediately after was when he felt bone chilling winds batter his body and dust swirl in the air that obscured his vision. He squinted his eyes and continued climbing outside, making sure to stay alert before crawling out onto the dusty ground and standing up to survey the land.

What used to be Bullet's house was noe just a pile of burnt wood and broken cement while the streets up ahead were cracked, brittle and looked about ready to collapse on itself any minute.

A depressing scene was all he could say about.

"Aw man, is that my house?" Bullet suddenly whined from behind once she made it out as well.

"I am afraid so..." Bang shared in her disappointment.

"I guess it doesn't matter now, but still..." She frowned and looked around a bit. "Damn..."

"Let us look for as much as possible..."

"On it."

They cautiously walked away from the door of the bunker and kept close as they began to explore. Nothing looked even a little like the quiet little neighborhood that use to stand quietly at the edge of town. Now it looked like a desolate wasteland of what used to be modern living. With how bare and silent everything was, it only seemed fair to think that they were the only humans in this part of the state at this point.

That was until they heard a very high pitched scream take them from their thoughts.

"Someone help me! Please!" It yelled.

Bang jumped in place and held his ladle out defensively while Bullet did the same, more than prepared for what horrors waited for the both of them in the thick cloud of soot. The voice grew louder and louder as if the person it belonged to was coming closer and closer to them until suddenly a feminine figure appeared in the fog, charging at them as if running away from something.

Bang hadn't any time to react when that same figure collided with him by wrapping its skinny arms around him.

"Oh please, please, please!" The figure pleaded. "I've been out here for days on end looking for food and something out there was trying to kill me!"

"E-Easy there, madame. Please, calm down!" Bang tried to ease the hysterical girl as gently and as softly as he could but had little time to do so when Bullet took it upon herself to pluck her off of him herself by grabbing her by the neck of her shirt and settling her a good few inches away from him. She didn't like the way she was hugging on him at **all** , but she couldn't explain why it did. Other girls climbing all over Bang made her skin crawl.

"Back off," Was all the soldier said. "Before you go askin' for help, wanna explain to us who you are?"

The girl had long, messy blonde hair, green doe eyes, and was clad only in an oversized t-shirt and shorts. She was small, meek and looked as though she was younger than either her or Bang.

"Um...I...!" The girl shuddered a little under Bullet's icy stare and tried to explain herself. "M-My name is Noel. N-Noel Vermillion... I was separated from my family and I've been looking for them for awhile now. For four days I've been out here searching for food, b-but when I was trying to find somewhere to sleep I saw this...this hulking monster trying to chase after me! I didn't know what to do so I ran away from it as fast as I could!"

"Monsters?" The older man questioned.

"Ha, I told you there were Ninja Turtles!" Bullet said matter-of-factly.

"Now is not the time for that Bullet!"

Noel continued her story. "So...I was just wondering if...if either of you have a place I can stay for at least the night..."

"Why of course we do, Lady Noel!" Bang stated proudly. "We have a very roomy bunker where housing five people isn't even a probl—ACK!"

Bullet hooked her arm around Bang's neck and dragged him a few feet away from Noel. " **Sorry, but I would like a quick word with your "savior" for a moment**." She growled.

Noel awkwardly stood where she was, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt nervously and watched Bullet let go of Bang and proceed to smack the back of his head once they were a good distance away from the teenager.

" _What the_ _ **hell**_ _do you think you're doing_!?" She whispered.

Bang rubbed his adam's apple and gave a hasty reply. " _Being a good sumaritan, that's what. What is the matter with that_?"

" _Have you forgotten that we don't have any food_? _I can't house three people with our rations_!"

" _Then what else are we supposed to do, leave her to die_!?"

" _YES_!"

" _How could you ever say such a thing_!?"

" _It's kill or be killed out here, Bang, and I_ _ **refuse**_ _to be the latter_!"

" _Then what do I tell her_?"

" _To buzz off that's wha—_ "

A rotten, no good, nasty idea came to Bullet's mind when she looked back at Noel.

" _Now what's the matter_?" Bang frowned.

" _We could eat her._ " Bullet declared.

Bang's jaw nearly dropped at that one. " _Are...are...you are not...being serious, are you..._?"

" _You heard her say it herself! There are apparently ravenous Ninja Turtles out there eating whatever humans are left! The hell is a gun and a few ladles going to do to stop that when we try to look for some food?_ "

" _But...she looks so sad and lonely_!"

" _Looks mighty tasty to me_."

Bang placed his hands on the back of his head and grumbled. " _I don't think I can, Bullet..._ "

" _She said it herself, she doesn't have a family anymore. Who's gonna miss her_?"

"That is an awful thing to say—! Ugh..." The older man felt his stomach grumble painfully and scowled when he felt that same pain shoot up his spine.

"What's the matter?" Asked Bullet.

"Hungry... But I will not...! Mm...!" Bang crumpled to the ground and held his stomach. Nearly a full week without food was really getting to the poor man and Bullet's proposal was starting to sound less and less deplorable the more the urge to eat began to overwhelm him. He should just offer himself up to either of them so he would not have to deal with the choice but he and Bullet knew that he was way too chicken to do it.

"Um, are...are you okay?" Noel called out once she saw Bang's state.

The martial artist hissed in pain and glanced up at Bullet with blurry, vacant eyes. If he didn't get any food in his stomach soon he will without a doubt die from exhaustion alone. It was such a crime against his own moral code and ethics, but...Bullet was so, so right.

Noel **was** looking mighty tasty...

"Bullet..." Bang muttered under his breath.

"Yeah?"

He could only hope that God, the angels and Heaven itself forgive him for what he was about to say.

"Bring her...inside..."

"I already told you it's a bad..." Bullet saw the carnal, predatory glint that began to shine in his eye and instantly knew what he was getting at.

There was only one way.

"Alright, Noel," Bullet shouted her way. "You can come in with us!"

The young girl beamed at the two and jumped up and down. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" She said cheerfully. "I thought I was a goner for sure!"

"Just help me take my friend down and we'll get you settled inside..." Bullet said as she kneeled down to take Bang's arm over her shoulder.

Noel giddily ran to Bang's other side and took his other arm before all three sauntered their way over to the bunker. Bang was the first to go down, then Noel, and finally Bullet who closed and locked the cellar doors tight so that no chance of escape was made.

All that followed soon after, behind those closed bunker doors and steel walls, was a scream and a series of gunshots.

* * *

 **I had too much fun writing this honestly.**


	4. White Noise (Occult: Part 1)

**I do not own Blazblue.**

 **A more serious story that will be divided into two parts. One posted this week, and the other being posted in another. I plan to post a new chapter in between which will be unrelated to this one before I upload the second part, but if not out in time, only part two of this will be out. This is Kagura x Kokonoe related.**

* * *

Everyday was the same, humdrum shit life.

It was the same shit job, the same shit kids, the same shit boss, the same shit everything. She sometimes wondered if life was honestly attempting to give her a wake up call to off herself already, but the few aspirations and dreams she had that she was so close to getting was what was really keeping herself from jumping into the first bus she saw.

Kokonoe sat indignantly at her desk as she passively sipped at a cup of saccharine coffee and regarded the massive amounts of unmarked tests and assignments that have begun to pile up over the past week while shooting the occasional death glare to the silent class that sat pensively in their seats. They have just recently finished a midterm earlier on in the week and Kokonoe can quite literally smell the nervousness and anxiety from their sweat alone, and they had a right to be. She was notorious around the school for having rather hard exams, and thus a low student turnout, but she didn't care. If you're a dumbass and join this class, expect to fail and fail hard, was her motto.

She grumbled something indistinct under her breath as she quickly moved the pen in her hand across an ungraded exam as thoroughly and as quickly as possible before moving onto the next paper just as swiftly. Being an advanced chemistry teacher for a bunch of ass kissing, overachieving, shit kicker kids was never the job she hoped to get before moving on to bigger and better things. Extra credit this, less homework that, confiscating phones, and trying not to curse out the next brat who wants to complain about a grade change was eating away at her like mad. Often times she thought about how easy life would be for a bit if she "accidentally" left some gas on during a lab experiment, but fuck did she need the money, and killing a bunch of teenagers wouldn't look good on a resume.

Sure, her way of thinking was cynical and downright morbid to anyone who dared to peer into her dark little head, but she was sure any teacher who worked at some run of the mill public school for forty hours every week would think the same if they had far more better things to do with their time.

With a drawn out sigh and a crack of her knuckles, Kokonoe tossed the pen she had on her desk before peering up at the clock behind her. Nearly half past two, it read, and how fortunate was it that she was able to grade her entire class' exams before the school day ended. Shame she had four more classes back at home for her waiting to be graded, but she's gotten use to the work load at this point.

Kicking her feet up and folding her hands over her stomach, Kokonoe cleared her throat to get her class's attention before opening her mouth to speak.

"I'm done scoring just about all of you guys' work for the semester." She began as she rested her head back against her chair. "Not much to say besides better luck next quarter."

She heard the entire room collectively groan in unison at her words before they began whispering their potential grades to each other in fear. They knew how hard her class was, but she herself never knew why they acted so surprised whenever they got a bad grade. It was so idiotic, she thought.

One student somewhere in the back raised their hand and waved it frantically.

Not even looking, Kokonoe acknowledged the student while making a displeased noise.

"Yes, you in the last row?"

"What exactly was the highest grade in class, Professor Mercury?"

The teacher hummed in contemplation before giving her answer.

"Probably an 86."

That's when the class really started to get loud and made the teacher's eyebrow twitch. Props to the one sucker who got it, but if it meant giving them all 86's to keep them quiet for the next five minutes of class, she would for her own sanity. She could hardly wait for the earful she'll get from them tomorrow about how they did and what they could do to fix their crap grades.

"If you're all done whining about your test," Kokonoe grumbled as she tried to diffuse the situation. "I'd like your homework on my desk before you leave ASAP. Maybe if about half of you got at least a third of the questions correct, I'll consider putting it as extra credit."

She hated giving extra credit, but it would be necessary in this case so she could avoid being nagged to death all day tomorrow. She was gonna grade it anyway so not like it was a total waste of her time.

She heard her students sigh in minor relief and continued their idle chatter but a little more quietly while Kokonoe closed her eyes to allow herself the chance to relax for a bit until she heard the final bell for the day ring and all the kids clamor over each other to put their work on her desk. The professor still kept her eyes closed as they piled paper after paper in front of her, rambling away about how good or bad their report cards will be until they all finally dashed out the room and left their teacher alone.

After a few moments of collecting her thoughts and mustering up the strength to get out her chair, Kokonoe put her feet back on the floor and rubbed the grit out of her eyes before getting up and grabbing her things. She quickly stuffed her papers and documents into her oversized messenger bag before grabbing her coffee and chugging it halfway down, her stomach grumbling in response to the lack of food she didn't bring with her today. She can already hear the wondrous call of the local bakery calling her name when she felt how hungry she was, and who was she to deny herself of such wondrous temptation? Another stressful day called for some sugary sweets to recharge her batteries.

Brushing off her jeans, Kokonoe bolted to the door of the classroom to switch off the light and exit out into the hallway, but cursed loudly when she nearly ran into an obnoxiously huge chest of biblical proportions once she stepped past the door.

Suffice to say she knew exactly who it belonged to.

"Fuckin' hell...!" Kokonoe quickly stomped passed the woman in question and sent her a glare. "How about putting those things away for a change, eh, Litchi?".

"Oh, my apologies, Professor!" The older woman gasped and placed a hand over her mouth shyly. "I was just coming in to see how you were doing!"

Kokonoe narrowed her eyes her way but didn't care to stay annoyed for long. This lady was Miss Faye Ling, a health and wellness teacher who all the students affectionately called "Miss Litchi" since she preferred it that way. She was essentially the bubbly antithesis to Kokonoe's more indolent personality due to her motherly behavior, soft approach and popularity among the students and staff. She had the approval of nearly everyone in the school and got along almost too well with the teachers, but always found time to check up on her for some odd reason. Kokonoe didn't really mind since her visits were short and brief, but God did her tits and voice annoy her when she got too talkative.

Especially those fuckin' tits...

"Whatever..." Kokonoe trudged past Litchi and hoisted the strap of her bag further up her shoulder. "Don't you have anything better to do than coming to see me?"

"I came to fetch you, is all." Litchi wasted no time following after her and kept that same smile on her face. "Did you forget what today is?"

"Probably." Kokonoe deadpanned. "As soon as that bell rings, any and all school related activity can kiss my ass."

Litchi giggled a little nervously at her colleague's crassness and continued. "The science department is having a meeting today." She explained further. "I know you never like them and all, but I think it's important that you come to this one. They're going to be talking about funding."

The younger woman's ears twitched at that. The science department of the school was already knee deep in new repairs and equipment with enough money to purchase two new laboratories, so it seemed odd to have a meeting about funding of all things. Isn't like it could lose the dough it already has since it's so big unless they're doing budget cuts, but those big wigs weren't dumb enough to propose that idea.

Nevertheless, Kokonoe still couldn't honestly find the will to care much about a single meeting. She's missed enough that her presence in of itself would be odd to anyone there unless she had some sort of gain from it, so best to brush it off for now.

"Funding, huh? Sounds like no better way to waste my time...Besides, I have work to do."

"Oh that's right! Midterms for all the science classes were this week, correct?" Litchi asked.

"You should know. You're one of them." Kokonoe groused.

"I had already given my classes their tests about two weeks in advance." The teacher declared. "I felt like they needed the free time this week to study since the rest of you science big heads give them such a hard time!" She joked merrily.

That comment made the young professor's mouth curl up into a sardonic sneer. Of course she would be so gracious as to do that for her students, she thought bitterly. If she didn't know any better, Kokonoe would've sworn that Litchi just loved to fuckin' show off how much of a great person she was.

"These kids don't deserve the gratitude." Was all Kokonoe said. "All they do is keep me away from shit that really matters. I can't be marking exams all week when I have other crap to get outta the way."

"What else are you doing besides grades, Professor?" Litchi inquired innocently.

Kokonoe briefly considered telling her peer her plans for the future but just as quickly decided against it. Her haste in leaving the school was because she considered this place a mere stepping stone for her future as an actual head scientist in an actual research facility than a rinky-dink chemist making sparklers out of magnesium. She just needed to get some extra money to move out of here and head out to the best residency she could find. Her ten plus years of university and degrees is **not** gonna go to waste by stopping here, and like hell is anyone going to convince her otherwise.

Which is why if she told Litchi about her plans, she would probably try pathetically to get her to teach here still. Seriously, what does this chick see in her?

"I have some personal projects to get done by the end of the season." The scientist lied. "It's been bugging me all year."

Litchi seemed to visibly perk up at the revelation. "I didn't know you did projects at home as well, Professor! Someone who is so in tune with physics and quantum mechanics and the likes, I bet you have loads and loads of theories, and paperwork, and-"

Kokonoe immediately tuned Litchi out once she began to go on and on about how great she was as they rounded a corner, too irritated to notice the commotion of teenagers bustling the halls and staying affixed to their lockers to be bother by it. Why doesn't she just put a sock in it already?

Litchi continued to ramble on and on with little indication that she was going to stop until the two women began to pass by a group of rambunctious boys and a few girls who clamored around the left side of their lockers and was making a ruckus. Rackets like these were far from uncommon, especially during dismissal time, but Kokonoe was more than sure that they were probably being louder than the rest of the kids here, and that was saying something.

"My those kids are quite rowdy, aren't they?" Litchi inquired. "A lot more rowdier than usual."

"Jesus, can't they keep it the fuck down for a change?" The scientist cursed. "Or better yet bring it outside. I don't see why they always lose their damn minds at this time."

Both teachers stayed silent for a time to watch the kids from the corner of their eye and get a good look at their faces as they proceeded to walk past them. It was nothing but the same posse of young wannabe thugs and rappers that they both always saw roaming the halls all day instead of attending any classes, which prompted Kokonoe to shove her way through the teenagers already in the hallway to finally get to her car. She was thoroughly convinced that there was nothing new to see or care about for that matter since it was the same shit as always until she saw a face among the noisy group she had not expected to see today.

He stood against a locker with one hand in his pocket and the other holding a sling bag over his chest, too busy cracking jokes and making conversation with this charismatic grin of his to pay attention to her or Litchi. From a distance he looked like an average high schooler, but up close his presence stuck out like a sore thumb to both Kokonoe and the kids he chatted with.

His hair was black and wild, his face long and angular while his body was tall, large and very muscular, his biceps and pecs very much visible under the form-fitting wool sweater he was clad in. To most, including her, he could be considered objectively attractive, which was a rare find indeed considering he looked way older than he should be compared to the other kids.

But he was still a massive punk to Kokonoe.

Litchi was the first to notice Kokonoe's pensive glare directed at the group and looked down at her in concern. "Is something the matter, Professor?" She asked.

Kokonoe resisted the urge to answer her for a time. She never managed to catch his name since she was in such a hurry to get to class at the time, but the brief interaction she had with him wasn't exactly the best thing to happen to her that week. His face was already well known throughout the school among the students and staff for better or for worse despite how he was new last time she checked, and he had gotten in a few fights with some kids over his popularity unsurprisingly.

And one of those fights she had to fucking break up just to get through the hallway.

It was a minor altercation that hadn't lasted long anyway since she stepped in, and had ordered the both of them to go to the principal's office since it was basic protocol to do so when kids got like this, and was gonna leave it at that, until that kid had decided to open his fresh little mouth to get her to let them off the hook.

" _Principal's office is a bit harsh, don't you think? I know you want me outta your hair and all, but a cute girl like you and pretty lips like those shouldn't get all pouty at a bunch of kids goofing off, yeah~? It certainly ain't a look that fits you."_

Of course say she had a few words to say to him.

" _If you don't get out of my face in the next five seconds, you're gonna have a lot more to worry about than a trip to the principal, do you understand?"_

His expression after that was more shock than any sort of fear like she usually got, but at least she got her point across.

"Professor?" Litchi said again.

The scientist wrinkled her nose and conceded to Litchi's question.

"Saw some punk kid who got in a fight with someone that I had to break up." She explained. "He's a real "ladies man"."

The older woman peered over at the group and blinked. "Oh him? You met before?"

"Unfortunately." She grumbled.

"I believe he is a transfer student if I remember correctly. He takes a class of mine." Litchi nodded and placed a finger on her chin. "He's a natural born charmer for sure, but he can be a little bold when it comes to older women..." The teacher grimaced when she recalled the few times the young man had decided to come onto her as well.

"He's the furthest thing from a charmer..." Kokonoe said to herself when she tried making a beeline towards the school exit when it came near but stopped when he heard that kid's voice call out her way.

"Hey, teach!"

She resisted the urge to turn around and continued to walk the other way.

"Aw, don't play hard to get!"

Litchi suppressed a giggle. "I wouldn't think he would take such a liking to you... B-But that still doesn't give him the right to talk to you that way!"

Kokonoe said nothing and peered over her shoulder to grant him the slightest bit of acknowledgement which did little to quiet him down or the laughing goons around him.

"Keeping outta trouble just like you want me to, teach. I promise~" He said aloud.

The professor shot him a black look that shut everyone up except for him who just seemed to smirk harder at her attention. She merely turned the other cheek in response and walked faster towards the exit doors before pushing through them once she was near. She better not see that fucker in the hallways ever again as long as she's working here. Kicking a student's teeth in for flirting wouldn't look good for her in the future or on her still clean criminal record.

"Wait, Professor!" Litchi yelled out when she finally caught up with her. "My, you walk fast... Where are you about to go now?"

"I'm going home." Kokonoe stated bluntly. "Have fun inside."

"Are you positive you don't want to go to the meeting?" Litchi asked again. "Or did that boy bother you too much to even consider it? Because if so, I'll-"

"I could give a rat's ass about what that little shit thinks." She interrupted. "As for the meeting, I wasn't gonna go in anyway. You can talk my ear off about it tomorrow."

"Well if you say so... I would've thought you would be the slightest bit interested." Litchi pouted at her bluntness but managed to smile nonetheless. "But alright then, Professor. I'll see you tomorrow!" She gave a friendly wave that Kokonoe rolled her eyes at.

"Yeah, yeah..." She gave a curt one of her own as she walked off onto the main sidewalk and drank the rest of her coffee before throwing the empty cup somewhere on the ground. The scientist muttered an expletive under her breath as she shuffled over to where the teacher's parking lot was located before pulling out a pair of jingling keys from her pocket.

The sooner she made it to her car, the sooner she can get her snacks for the day in her stomach to give her the rush she needed to finish as much work as possible. She needed the sugar, but she wouldn't be surprised if she winded up knocking out halfway through. Time could only tell of course.

Though sometimes she did wish that she never had to wake up again whenever she **did** crash from exhaustion.

* * *

The ride from the school to the bakery had not taken long at all considering how it was just a three minute drive from the building, but boy did it feel longer than that. It was around this time that rush hour reared its ugly head and caused a significant amount of traffic to fuck up everyone's mood and time. Honestly she would've been better off walking the twenty minutes it took to get here if it meant getting her sugar in time, but like hell she would exert the little energy she had just for some donuts.

Kokonoe yawned and walked lazily towards the counter once it was her turn in line and requested the usual from the cashier who quickly jotted down what she wanted.

"I need two dozen assorted and make it snappy." She quickly said before moving over to a chair near an adjacent table to sit down in. She watched the cashier finish up her order and rush into the back of the bakery to give it to whatever patissier was back there before he returned to the register. She always got big orders from this place since she always ate so many sweets in just a few days, so they knew exactly what she wanted and how soon she wanted it, or else face the consequences. She knew how much of a bitch she could be, but that didn't stop her from using it to her advantage sometimes.

"If I ain't out of here in the next ten minutes, I'll just get a shake from a burger joint..." She mumbled to herself, ignoring the noises around her in favor of taking out of her phone and fiddling with that. Time seemed to fly for the young teacher the longer she sat there, too preoccupied with whatever game she was playing to notice the bell of the bakery's door ring as another customer walked inside. She continued tuning out the world around her instead, her mind too busy and yet too tired to care about anything else except for the small screen in front of her until she heard a boastful, flirty voice from behind her call her name and make her jump from her seat.

"Well isn't this a sight for sore eyes. Didn't think I would be seeing you here, miss~"

Kokonoe spun her body around to peer up at the owner of the teasing voice who dared to get her attention and immediately scowled when she saw who it belonged to. It was that dumb kid from earlier with that same dumb smile who grinned down eagerly at her without a care in the world. How the hell did he follow her over here so quick? Did he have a car and drive here? Did he walk and just happen to stop on the way over for a snack? Both seemed implausible considering the time it took to get here by foot and the traffic that ravished the streets outside, but Kokonoe was way too exhausted and annoyed to think about anything other than getting this fucker out of her face as soon as possible.

"Look..." She stood up and pointed an accusing finger his way. "You better have a right good excuse for talking to me again, and believe me, now that we're not in school, I will not hesitate to knock your head off if need be."

"Woah, woah there, teach. I'm not here to fight ya." He reassured. "I just came to get something sweet to eat is all."

"You don't seem to be the type who hangs around bakeries." She grimaced.

"I wouldn't peg you either, teach, but who am I to complain? I'll come down here everyday if it means meeting up with cuties like you." He ignored the growing anger on her face and instead held his hand out to her. "I never got yours, but my name's Kagura. Kagura Mutsuki."

"Pleasure is mine." She said sarcastically.

"Mind tellin' me yours then?" He asked.

"You're not my student and neither are you anything I wanna be involved with."

"Ohhh, that fiery attitude and that icy stare you're givin' me is more of a treat than a deterrent, miss. In fact, I like it a lot~"

"I'll kick your ass six ways from Sunday if you don't shut that trap of yours, asshole." She hissed. "You're not getting my name."

"Playing so hard to get." He sighed playfully. "But I like that about my women. Alright then, you don't gotta tell me. How about you let me guess it then?"

"Guess all you want," She waved him off and walked in front of him to wait by the counter again. "You're never gonna get it even if you tried."

"You'd be surprised by what I'm capable of, miss." He flipped his hair as he wandered next to her. "I can tell exactly who and what a person is and what they're feeling just by lookin' at 'em. Think I wouldn't be able to read you, teach?"

"You of all people would never be able to." She scoffed once more and stared at him from the corner of her eye. "Young, dumb, and restless little shits like you would never be able to tell what an adult has to go through."

"That's what you think, huh? More stoic than I took you for." Kagura was visibly growing more and more amused by the second and began inspecting Kokonoe from head to toe. "Long salmon pink hair... peach skin...honey gold eyes...a small chest, but...what you lack up there you certainly make up for downstairs."

Kokonoe's eyes widened at that last part and almost immediately tried slamming the toe of her boot in Kagura's shin which he had barely managed to dodge in time.

"And that same fiery temper I'm coming to love so much."

"Shut the hell up!" She tried suppressing the blush slowly bleeding into her cheeks from her own embarrassment and glared daggers at him. "What are you even getting at!?"

"What I said so before." The teenager crossed his arms and gave her a knowing look. "Just by looking at you, I can tell what you are, who you are, and what you're thinking of. Right now, maybe a little flabbergasted, but before you thought of me as any other punk kid, yeah?"

"What makes you think I still don't see you as just that?"

"Well now you dunno what to think. You may think I'm a punk still, but you're very unclear as to what else I might say. But relax, I won't say anything to upset you like that if it means keeping my nads where God intended them to be." He joked.

"Whatever, just hurry this charade along." Kokonoe's patience was reaching a boiling point.

Kagura's smile was still unfaltering. He really knew how to push a chick's buttons.

"You gotta pretty face and gorgeous body, but you aren't as prim and proper as most girls. Dark lines under your eyes, no makeup, and jewelry. You don't care to be seen and don't wanna be seen." He continued. "You have more of a bigger goal in mind than lookin' pretty, yeah?"

The older woman hesitated to give him a response but conceded to his guess since it was only a small one. "Yes, I do. I don't care for fashion."

"Fashion, friends, or even a social life for that matter. I guess that's what happens when you're so enamored with science."

"So, ha, ha, you guessed that I'm a science teacher and that I hate trends. Anymore magic tricks you got for me or are you just bullshitting me now?"

"Ah, ah, ah," Kagura wagged his finger. "You're too cynical and yet too smart to stick to a teacher's job. You got ambitions ahead of you, don't you? Probably makin' a name for yourself out in the field?"

The professor was gradually growing more interested in his observations but kept her thoughts to herself. "...Yeah. So what are you getting at?"

"Cynical yet determined, fiery and cold, cute and yet so drab. You're a rare case indeed and full of surprises, but if anything I don't think I have much else in the bank." He said bluntly. "I got the simplest parts of you down though, didn't I?"

"Bare minimum, is what I would say." She retorted.

"Bare minimum, maybe, but enough for me to guess your name, I bet~"

Kokonoe waved him off. "Try if you wanna, kid."

Kagura thought about it for a moment as if in contemplation and said his answer.

"Professor Kokonoe Mercury, advanced Chem teacher of grades 10 and up at our humble school here in the boroughs. Is that it?"

The teacher seemed stupefied for a second and blinked at the words that came out of his mouth before regaining her composure. She thought he was surely bluffing about reading people, but that guess was the farthest thing from inaccurate. She couldn't think of any other way he would know that unless he was messing with her and just knew from basic knowledge around the school, but that was almost too on the nose for him to get since he was so new.

"How...how did you even guess that?"

"You look like that would be your name." He grinned and looked down at the lanyard hanging from her neck and poked at the plastic case it was hooked onto gently. "Also says it right here on your teacher's card."

Kokonoe did a double take between him and the photo-id that rested against her chest and felt her blood boil. This fucking brat really **was** messing with her the whole time, and damn did he get her good! No one has ever made a fool out of her, and here she was being bested by some teenager! She wanted to yell, she wanted to scream, she wanted to bite his head off, and was near ready to rear her head back and curse him out with every cuss she knew until she heard the chime of a small bell ring in her ear and the chipper voice of the cashier who rung it.

"Your order is hot and ready to go, ma'am!" The cashier said cheerfully as he slammed two large boxes of baked goods on the counter and tied a string around them to keep them together.

The scientist looked away from Kagura and to the sweets next to her, her face, once brimming with anger, slowly turning into her usual permanent scowl once she fished for the wallet in her pocket to get the money she needed to pay for her stuff. Showing how fucking **irate** she was would only result in him winning and like hell was she was going to give him the satisfaction. That fucker had another thing coming if he really think she was going to.

"Really funny trick you got there...!" She growled as she tried looking for some money. "And here I thought you actually had some semblance of intellect in that tiny brain of yours."

"Aw, come on, professor, you know I was just teasing." Kagura dug into his own pocket and pulled out a stack of bills. "Here, I'll make it up to you."

"What are you doing?"

"In return for giving me such a lovely name, this batch is on me." He placed the bills on the counter and started to walk off towards the door. "See you on the flip side though, professor. I'm sure we'll be getting to know each other real well in the future." He gave a wave of his hand and a candid smirk that did nothing but leave the older woman both baffled and irritated by his antics.

Kokonoe simmered in place for a bit before taking her snacks in her arm and muttering to the cashier to keep the change as she stomped towards the door with goodies in hand. That kid better hope he doesn't come crossing her path one of these days in school or so God help her will she give him the beat down of a lifetime. The last thing she needed was another unneeded fixture in her life, and it certainly wasn't gonna be some damn teenager.

It was without a doubt in her mind she was gonna scarf all these donuts down as soon as she got home.

* * *

 **Stay tuned for another one in a few days to a week.**


	5. Black Stillness (Occult: Part 2)

**I do not own Blazblue.**

 **Decided to post part two earlier since the unrelated story I had planned to write and post would take a while to complete, so here it is.**

* * *

Upon arriving to school the next day, Kokonoe was treated with a rather unwelcomed surprise when she tried setting up shop in her office.

It wasn't the chipper and ebullient vibe given off by Litchi's obnoxious presence or the suave, debonair, playboy wannabe that was Kagura's person. There wasn't even any paperwork on her desk that she hadn't already taken home that was waiting for her to find. Instead it was something else—a certain someone who barged into the only sanctuary she had in this godforsaken school who she resented above everyone else she knew in her entire life.

He stood next to her desk peering in a manilla folder while quietly placing paper after thin paper on the table, uncaring of the woman before him whose privacy he invaded until she bitterly called out his name.

"Relius..." She spat out as if it were the devil's name itself. "Mind telling me what you're doing in here?"

Relius said nothing and sifted through the folder a little more until he finally decided to peek at her from the rim of his glasses before "gracing" her with a response.

"Good morning to you as well, Professor." He said, cold eyes obscured by the thick glare reflecting off his spectacles. "I hope you are doing well."

"I was fine until you came along." She bit back. "What are you doing here?"

"Your track record is catching up with you, Professor Mercury." The older gentleman adjusted his tie and placed the last paper on her desk. "You have been dodging meetings left and right ever since you started here, and I am getting the impression you're not taking this job seriously."

"Lack of passion would be a better word for it." She replied.

"Well your lack of passion is going to make you ignorant of the situation that the Science Department is currently in." He pushed up his glasses and tucked the now empty folder under his arm. "It's best that you either listen to me or risk being fired for negligence if you don't heed my warning."

"Well. Alright then..." Kokonoe sighed as she dropped her bag on the floor. "Tell me why I should care."

This man, this very creature even, was a major reason why she wanted to leave the school so bad. He was head of the Science Department, and thus had a wide range of control over everyone and everything that worked under it, especially how the department itself operates and runs its affairs. Often times the decisions he made were strict and didn't make much sense in the grand scheme of things beyond fulfilling his own goals and the wishes of any superintendent that kept him at least partially in check, but other times, it was really just to piss her off.

To put it simply he was a dick.

Relius, as unreadable as usual, explained himself further "If you should know, we are going to be making some necessary budget cuts in order to focus more on other subjects in the department. Particularly forensics, botany, and agriculture. We have decided to take the most out of the chemistry and biology classes considering that has the most funding. I had only came here to relay the message to you."

"Wait, what!?" Kokonoe narrowed her eyes his way once she heard the news. "What kind of shit do you gain from cutting funds from **my** classes!?"

No money for chemistry or biology meant limited resources, and limited resources meant a harder job, and a harder job meant a larger risk of her quitting the only job she managed to find after finishing university. Finding somewhere to work in this state with her credentials wouldn't be a problem for sure, but she needed the money and the time to get her shit together before establishing her career. She'd only be wasting more time looking for another job than she would be staying here for another school year, and that wasn't going to be a risk she'll be willing to take.

This fucker was really trying to mess with her.

"There is no gain, Professor Mercury." Relius said calmly. "Our objective is to give our other subjects more resources so that more students attend them."

"Why not just get rid of the classes then?" She retorted.

"That would take more than a year if we were to do anything like that. I am only doing what is best for the school." He walked past her in his usual gait of long strides and stiff posture and was about to reach for the door knob until Kokonoe inquired about his motives further.

"Is that all you came in here for? Not to tell me off or nothing?"

Relius merely looked behind him and gave a very candid response. "You're a good teacher. I thought it would be best to tell you what direction we are going in. That is...until you leave of course."

Kokonoe felt the corner of her mouth twitch and only turned around to hide her growing anger. He knew what he was doing, the fucker. He knew exactly what he was doing. If there was anything Relius was good at, it was being as deceptive as a rat, and he knew very well that she was capable of catching onto his games. Unpopular and under staffed classes such as agriculture and shit was exactly what the department wanted to get rid of for awhile now, but for some reason that bastard still wants to keep them. He always looked down on her by undermining her intellect since he was so conceded, but she was smart enough to know where all the extra money was really going to. That crook probably wanted to pocket some of the cash and send her out the door by doing this before restoring classes back to normal.

The younger woman brought a hand up to her face to rub the bridge of her nose and struggled to keep her composure. He left such a bad taste in her mouth whenever she saw him and the most she could do was either leave as fast as possible or kick his ass out for even trying to get smart around her. He was such a pompous, self-centered asshole.

"Thanks for telling me, I guess." She growled out. "But if you don't mind, I have work to do, and you being here is just going to interfere with that."

"Of course." He said, finally turning the knob of the door. "Be seeing you soon, Professor." Relius uttered, walking out into the hallway and slowly closing the door behind him.

Kokonoe simmered in place and sucked in her teeth. "Such a fucking asshole..." She cursed.

The rest of Kokonoe's day went on as average as per usual, in spite of the constant reminder of Relius' bullshit that plagued the back of her mind. She gave the classes who never had their midterm yet their tests, and let the other classes who completed their's fuck around while she graded all of their work. She had managed to get about half of her workload done by the time she had reached her seventh period class thanks to her efforts, but still couldn't shove the events of earlier out of her head. At the very least she was less exasperated and more indifferent about her situation compared to before.

That was until she walked into her final class and saw what would ignite her fury one last time today.

There he sat in the front row, flipping through his phone while gawking at her with that same stupid, urbane look she wanted to slug right off his pretty face so much, running his hand through his hair and winking her way when she began staring right at him longer than a few seconds.

"Good afternoon..." She quietly said as she made her way to the teacher's desk. "I see that we have a new student here today." She murmured whilst glaring at Kagura. "Someone who doesn't belong here..."

Kagura feigned ignorance and looked around as if thinking it was someone else just to rile her up more.

"I think you know who I'm talking about, Mutsuki!"

The teenager raised a brow and shrugged. "Who me? Couldn't be."

"Who else would I be talking about then?"

"Someone else maybe?" He said back. "But it certainly ain't me. I transferred in here."

The revelation quickly caught Kokonoe off guard. "W-What?"

The scientist was at a loss for words. This late in the semester and so early after the first midterm? Unless he was fucking with her again, it would be impossible to switch classes until after the quarter was over, and even then it would take a few days to get him from whatever science class he was already taking to her's.

This whole situation sounded like another headache waiting to happen.

Kokonoe dropped her bag, books, and papers unceremoniously on the desk and marched out of the classroom to settle herself in the hallway before beckoning Kagura to follow with a curled finger.

"I need your ass out here now." She said through gritted teeth. "The rest of you, do whatever you want."

Kagura happily obliged and rose from his feet to catch up with his now "favorite" teacher who closed the door behind him as soon as he got in her face.

"Something the matter, Kokonoe?"

"Don't call me that!" She yelled. "You know damn well why I called you out here! If this is another joke, I swear to GOD, Kagura..."

He seemed to get a general hint at how she wasn't in high spirits and kept his story short. "Like I said before, teach. I got transferred in here this morning and I have the papers to prove it. Scout's honor." He held up his right hand for emphasis.

"But how did you so fast?"

"Well..." He put his finger to his chin and faked as if he was pondering her question. "It wasn't really that hard. My guidance counselor is easy to persuade apparently. I guess she knew how I didn't wanna spend another second away from you, Professor~"

"Please, you're gonna make me sick." She grimaced.

"Love sick, I hope."

Kokonoe scrunched up her nose and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Fine." She huffed. "I'll give you a rundown of what's expected of creeps like you, but don't say I didn't warn you." She rarely ever explained what it was her class consisted of to any new arrivals since barely anyone likes coming in here, so this would be a new experience.

"There isn't any piggybacking in here, and a lot of your tests will account for a majority of your final grade."

"I'll just study a lot then." Kagura said cockily.

She felt her lip curl into a contemptuous cat-like smirk once he uttered those words and continued.

"Not a lot of my kids pass on the first try, dumbass." She beamed. "You fail enough of 'em, or if you don't get your work in on time, you fail, and when you fail you're kicked out, and when you're kicked out, you're sent to remedial studies for summer school. Fair trade, don't you think?"

Unlike an average class, advanced classes had double the benefit of scholarly opportunity and rewards, but equal parts double the drawback. As opposed to regular classes where they just give you loads of second chances to boost a failing grade, advanced classes were designed to basically punish those who think they were smart enough to get into one in the first place. It was a fucked system, but it definitely had its advantages if it meant getting Kagura out of here quick enough.

The younger man however was still cheeky about the prospect.

"Aww, you tryin' to scare me, babe?" He teased. "That's real cute of you for trying, but it takes a lot to get me shakin' in my boots."

"I'm giving you a last minute warning. Don't blame me if you can't graduate this year."

"Warning, huh?" He let out a deep and throaty laugh. "I live for a little danger, and trust me, a few marks on a report card ain't gonna keep me away from here. Or you for that matter. Especially you."

"Jesus, you're persistent..." Kokonoe said in minor disgust and slapped a hand on her face. God must really be fucking with her now. Two bad run-ins in a row, and it wasn't even Thursday yet. What a week to be alive.

"You seem a little more high-strung than you should be though, Professor." He stated. "Something happen to you this morning?"

She opened the classroom door and shooed him inside. "It's none of your concern. Just go back in your seat."

Kagura gave her a weird look and lingered around the doorway briefly before going back to his desk.

As time passed, Kokonoe was at her desk and was left alone with the mess of papers she still needed to tend to whilst her students preoccupied themselves with their own devices. She worked in diligent silence while the kids chatted amongst themselves, all except for the miscreant who had practically invited himself into her room and was strangely silent for the most part. From what she observed from the view her seat gave her, he was pretty quiet and only kept to himself for the most part, probably because the crowd in here wasn't who he really socialized with, she assumed. Instead he only sat there and played with his phone and only his phone for awhile, but Kokonoe herself couldn't help but feel a pair of eyes on her each time she went back to grading her tests.

It wasn't glaringly obvious or unnerving at all, but it was annoying to the point that she winded up staring at him for a good few seconds to make sure he wasn't doing the same. But he just sat there. Doing absolutely nothing and saying absolutely nothing. She's only known him for a day, not counting their first encounter weeks ago, but this felt out of character for him to do, to stay so reserved and not try to embarrass. But there he was, not even paying an ounce of attention to her. Kokonoe hoped that maybe he's learned his place and would consider leaving her alone and perhaps even drop the class, but she can only wish for so much.

Too engrossed in her work and her own fear of Kagura's wandering eye, before she knew it, the final bell rang and in an instant everyone rose from their seats and gathered their things before leaving for the day. They all passed by the young scientist's desk, leaving their work and other past due assignments on the table before ushering themselves out the door, all except Kagura who only got up to stand over her smaller form and greet her.

"Hey."

Kokonoe sighed and peered up at him.

"Can you go home and fuck outta here already?"

"Not when you have such a glum look on your face."

So he was still on about her moodiness, huh? He never gives up.

"Like I said before, it isn't any of your business."

Kagura regarded her very briefly again with a mysterious mien she couldn't read before he gave her another one of his signature grins.

"When you say it like that, I can't help but think I can help in some way."

"Seriously, it's something you wouldn't care about."

"You'd be surprised." He came around her desk to stand at her left side and crouched down to meet her gaze, appearing genuinely curious about her problems like a humble gentleman and not like the shitty teenager he often made himself out to be. Kokonoe almost felt comfortable enough to tell him what the problem was with the way he was looking at her, but held her tongue considering how this was someone she literally just came to know yesterday.

He had a natural talent at making someone feel, for lack of a better word, "safe," she had to admit.

"You for real right now?"

Kagura nodded. "Doesn't hurt to have a shoulder to lean on."

"How do I know you're not trying to up your chances of getting your dick wet, huh?"

"Honestly, if it were any other girl, you wouldn't be **all** wrong." He managed to chuckle. "But...from the moment I saw you, you looked...different. Like, I need to actually try my hand a few times at getting you to even notice me a _little_. Guess you can say I can't help but listen just to listen."

She blinked at his words for a moment and awkwardly scratched her head. She was a good judge of character and scrutinized every bit of a person she either hated or at the very least tolerated to get a basic understanding of them, but she wasn't expecting this level of honesty from an otherwise, in her words, "filthy degenerate" who only seemed interested in getting in some girl's pants. It was refreshing in a way but also still so strange considering how it **was** Kagura. Just some punk who she would pay little if any mind to in any other given situation.

"Well, I... hm..." She stumbled on her words before managing to regain her composure. "Alright, I'll tell you, but you're out of your mind if you're even expecting my number in exchange, got that?"

The teen held up his hands as a silent gesture that he was conceding to her demands. "No ulterior motive, teach. Just lending an ear out to ya."

Kokonoe remained silent for a few seconds and stayed like that until she thought of the words to say.

"Considering how you're so new," She began. "You probably wouldn't know about him much. His name is Relius Clover and he's head of the Science Department. He's my dickhead of a boss."

Kagura took in the new info and motioned for her to continue.

"He never really cares about anyone excluding himself and doesn't have anything but disrespect and contempt for those under him. Myself especially." She adjusted her glasses and propped an elbow on her desk to stuff her cheek into her hand. "He undermines anything I say, wants me to leave before the school year even ends, and whenever I propose any idea that would at the very least improve any class, he waves me off to do Lord knows what."

"So dickhead boss who ignores you and the changes you wanna make." Kagura reiterated. "Sounds pretty typical."

The older woman let out a curt chortle through her nose. "Yeah, suppose so."

"Anything else happen?"

"Long story short, he wants to cut funds from some classes and apply it to ones that aren't as popular, but I'm more than positive he just wants to pocket some of the cash. And possibly get rid of me while he's at it..."

"I see..." Kagura chewed on his lower lip as he went over Kokonoe's words in his head. He seemed to be in deep thought for a few moments, his expression serious and gaze not holding the usual charm that always seemed to shine in his dark eyes. He looked rather calculating. Focused even, and maybe even a little attractive, dare she say.

Wait, she didn't just think that in her head, right?

It was then that Kagura rose from his spot on the floor and scanned Kokonoe's face with a peculiar eye that he was quick to fix once he saw her. It was brief and very much a "blink and you'll miss it moment," but she could've sworn she saw something weird come off that frown he had on his face. She didn't know what, but it was something.

"Alright then..." The young man brushed off his jeans before continuing. "So you got a lot on your plate as is and nothing is making it easier. I can see where the frustration lies."

"So insightful." She replied sarcastically. "So now you know the whole story. Told you it was something you wouldn't care about."

"Something I wouldn't care about? On the contrary, Professor." He stuffed one hand in his pocket and placed the other one on her shoulder. "Your problem can be my problem." He squeezed lightly which prompted Kokonoe to both raise a brow and glower at how he touched her.

"What can you even do? You're just a kid." She shook his hand off and frowned. "I'll just have to tough it out is all. You don't need to make promises you can't keep."

"You look unsure about that."

"I'm not "unsure". I know for a fact you can't."

He narrowed his eyes at that and leered at the older woman, as if trying to decipher her very emotional state right now.

She thought his gaze was a tad odd.

"You okay?" She asked.

Kagura stayed like that for a bit before shaking his head and rubbing the back of his neck stiffly whilst smiling assuredly at her.

"Oh don't worry about me, just thinking is all." He then turned on his heel and walked towards the classroom door, waving his other hand over his shoulder to give her a curt goodbye. "I was just foolin' with ya and all. I can do a lot, but I can't do everything."

Kokonoe was thinking his departure was rather sudden.

"H-Hey, where are you going?"

"Just headin' home for the day." He replied. "You look like you need the alone time. I've been around enough girls to know when to leave 'em be." He was about to head out the door but stopped to look back at her. "Just one thing though..."

"What is it?"

Kagura's mouth stretched from ear to ear while his eyes darkened just a tad when he saw her own lock with his.

"Everything is gonna be okay." He simply said.

The scientist watched him walk out into the hallway and close the door behind him as soon as he uttered those words and could barely make a sentence form in her head as she mulled over his actions. Just what the hell was that? Kagura wasn't someone she would call weird at all. Maybe annoying, but not at all freaky. She wanted to think that perhaps she didn't really know him all that well, but even then anyone just walking out and saying something so ominous was a peculiar thing for someone to do. She was tempted to catch up with him just so he could explain what he meant, but he was probably making it down to the dismissal area by now. It wasn't important enough for her to address him about it now, but she certainly will when class ends tomorrow.

Furrowing her brows, Kokonoe quickly casted the thought out of her head and started packing up her things, making a point to be fast about it as she didn't want to be caught by Relius or Litchi right now and just wanted to go home with little interaction from anyone else today. She just wanted to take a break from working on so many things at once and take a long nap once she arrived at her abode.

Today was just a little too draining for her liking.

* * *

In the day that followed, everything in the school felt strangely quiet yet very relaxed.

In fact it wasn't just a feeling—everything just looked dead.

The teachers and students that roamed the busy halls were rushing to get to class as usual, but their faces, general gait, and the shimmer in their eyes seemed...unusual. They dragged their feet across the floor instead of actually walking while their arms fell limply at their sides instead of swinging and moving about like how she was usually use to seeing. It all felt very surreal and slightly off-putting to Kokonoe, who likened the behavior to zombies. Was she just seeing things? Did she finally fall off the deep end and was just imagining all of this?

Kokonoe ran a hand through her straightened locks before bonking her head with a closed fist. Pull yourself together, she thought to herself. Perhaps it was just seasonal depression or something like that. It was November and late in the month, so it's been cold and especially rainy, which was enough to drag a lot of people's moods down because of it. Nothing like a few cups sweet coffee and sweets to cheer her up since she liked rain, but the everything and everyone looked infectiously depressing.

Despite her attempts at trying to rationalize the situation in her head, Kokonoe was still visibly unnerved by the sights around her, and taught classes as she would normally.

Upon coming to her last period class once again however, she couldn't help but feel anxious.

All the students sat at their desks as they usually did, but with gloomy, unchanging faces and backs hunched over at awkward angles, as if they were literally glued to their seats and had no control over the way their heads were held. Not a one had even bothered to swivel in place to greet her nor address her with a half assed "welcome" like she was always use to. Just cold, dead, pin drop silence.

She felt her stomach flip at that and pondered whether or not to even move from the doorway until she forced a mumbled salutation from her throat.

"G-Good morning..." She quietly said, her voice cutting through the stillness like a hot knife.

What she saw next had left her effectively speechless.

Left and right, from the first row to the last, all of the kids in the room had slowly turned their heads, and only their heads, her way at the same time. Their necks cracked and popped when they did so, forcing the bones keeping their skulls leveled to break the more they made themselves look her way from their unsightly positions which only managed to frighten Kokonoe more and make her take one step back when she saw the way they all stared at her. Swollen, sunken eyes as black as night and as listless as a corpse's peered into her own as if they were all dead the minute she walked in here, which made her pulse jump and her heart beat into her throat.

She needed to run.

Without even bothering to look back, Kokonoe sprinted away from the classroom and ran to the nearest shortcut she saw in the hallway to dash upstairs into her office and grab her keys to leave this godforsaken school. She shoved and pushed past all of the torpid, languid masses who got in her way and went as fast as her legs could allow. Everyone here was either dead, half-dead, or was fortunate enough to be alive but was too stupid to notice. She didn't know what was going on or why it was that shit this improbable was happening, but she was too scatterbrained at the moment to be logical right now. She was too focused on staying alive and driving as far away from here as possible.

Upon seeing a corner she regularly passed by to get to her office, Kokonoe made a sharp turn and tried bounding for the door at the other end of the hall, but tripped as soon as she placed her foot on the ground and fell flat on her stomach. She groaned bitterly at her sudden clumsiness and shakily tried rising from her spot by planting a firm hand on the floor, but instantly stopped moving when she heard a noise next to her.

She stayed firmly in her spot and only turned her head to the side see what it was.

It was a door slightly left ajar, and behind it was nothing but pitch blackness and what sounded like the ragged gasps of a grown man. She was too shakened to even want to peer behind that dark room and witness whatever horrors laid before her, and was even willing to crawl her way to the otherside of the building if it meant making it out on time until she heard someone talking.

It was a voice she was now way too familiar with.

"Man...seeing you like this, all hunched over and struggling, she's really gonna love me for this..."

It was Kagura's.

And it sounded unsettlingly calm.

"You people really don't know what you have...what you're taking for granted..."

Kokonoe shakily peered up at the wooden namecard that hung below the clouded mirror of the door and gasped when she saw the name that was there.

Relius Clover, it read.

This was his office, and Kagura was in there.

Oh shit...

The scientist swallowed the growing lump in her throat and slowly padded across the floor to look into the crack of the door. It was all so dark minus a few candles that illuminated certain parts of the room until her vision adjusted enough to see two moving bodies within, one standing in front of a desk with a phone in its hand while the other sat in a chair, hands bounded and taped around a blade that it held dangerously close to its neck.

Kokonoe quickly clapped a hand over her mouth and resisted the urge to make a sound.

She watched what looked like Kagura scroll through his phone, the lit screen showing his face and the pictures within that made her squirm a little in her seat when she saw them. It was far away and certainly not the clearest, but even from a distance she could see what it was that he was looking at with such longing adoration, and honestly could not help but feel sick to her stomach. They were all pictures of her, some of them taken at school, some in public, and hell, even some from her own damn house in either innocuous positions or ones of her in less than appropriate scenarios. It somehow made her feel even worse in the gut than before and nearly compelled her to hack up her breakfast due to how disgusted she was by his behavior. She resisted thankfully, and kept her food down to avoid being caught red handed. She had to sit through this, at least long enough to see whatever the fuck it is he had planned for Relius.

Kagura walked over to the man struggling to move any part of his body and showed him what looked like a picture of her sleeping in bed.

"Just look at that..." He said dreamily while putting an arm around Relius' shoulder. "Just a beaut, isn't she? Prettiest girl a bastard could ever lay their eyes on." She watched him stroke the screen with his thumb and went on. "I'd do anything for that... Hell, I'd kill for her if need be. It's a shame people like you can't appreciate such a fine thing that piece of ass is. Oh well..." He grabbed Relius by the back of his shirt and hoisted him up on his feet before walking back to his spot on the floor. "More for me then~" He simpered.

It was so dark she couldn't make out anything beyond Relius' body, but she can certainly hear the grunts he was making. It sounded like his mouth was gagged by a piece of cloth or something. Not one to show weakness though, all the noises he made were more angered and annoyed than any sort of fear, but she was sure that was going to change soon once Kagura was done doing whatever the hell it was he had in mind for him.

The teenager's eyes lingered on his phone for a few short seconds before he finally stuffed it in his pocket to stare at Relius and issue out a command.

"Tilt your head back." He suddenly said.

Relius almost instantly did so, his head twitching spastically as if trying to resist whatever force was making him do it.

"Bring your arms forward."

His limbs jutted so violently in front of him that Relius himself was nearly thrown over the desk from how quick and hard he lunged his arms towards the younger man. It shook Kokonoe to her core, but she knew to remain where she was. It was almost as if Kagura were controlling his movements in a way, which seemed farfetched to her to begin with until she heard it.

The knife shook and quaked when he commanded him again.

"Put it in your neck."

That's when she knew that she had to put an end to this.

She swung the door open with a quivering hand and lunged towards Kagura's person, beating his back with her fists at a desperate attempt at trying to stop him.

"K-Kagura, cut it out already!" She screamed.

The teenager was at first surprised at the sudden weight on his back and the feminine voice that called out to him, but kept his cool throughout the ordeal.

"So...you made it up here earlier than what I would've liked..." He whispered. "I thought you would still be teaching class."

"Nevermind that, you fucker!" Kokonoe forced him to turn around and look at her, too many questions and too many answers clouding her mind as she struggled to understand what was happening. "What the hell is this...!? What did you do to Relius...to the school, to...to everything!?"

Kagura said nothing and only made Relius bring the knife closer to his neck which Kokonoe saw over the younger man's shoulder.

"Stop it already, dammit! You don't need to kill him! Just tell me what you're doing!"

He gave an airy laugh that was as slick as honey but laced with so much poison, she nearly cringed at how awfully sinister and yet so relaxed it sounded.

"You're looking at me as if I'm doing something wrong." He said innocently. "I'm just trying to make you happy. Fixing the school for you was gonna be the first step."

"W-What...!?"

"It's a lot to take in, I know." He explained. "I'll tell you everything once I'm through with this asshole though."

"I said don't kill him!" She shouted again.

Kagura looked confused for a second but soon gave the older woman a very sadistic smile.

"I don't get why you're even bothering to waste your time with this guy." He teased her further by making it so that the tip of the blade was pressed lightly against Relius' neck. "Didn't you tell me yesterday that he treats you like shit and doesn't care about what happens to you? Scum like him shouldn't have the gall to boss you around like that."

"You...You..." Kokonoe was at a complete loss for words. So this was what Kagura meant by "making things okay". By making the school into half-dead, lethargic corpses and killing off the man she hated most. She never believed in anything supernatural or spiritual in the many years she's been on this Earth, but this was really fucking up her perception of it all now. She wanted to close her eyes and tell herself it was all some crazy dream brought on by eating too many sweets before bed, but no matter how much she tried ignoring or forcing herself to "wake up" from this nightmare, all she was met with was that dark, sinister sneer that was plastered on that boy's face. He looked ruthless, damn near demonic even, and she didn't know how to process it. Kokonoe could only stand there in utter horror of what it was that Kagura was capable of and felt her words catch up in her throat, effectively paralyzed by the sheer thought of what this kid was capable of.

Kagura took it upon himself to take advantage of her stupor however.

"Aw, I leave you speechless, babe?"

Barely able to catch it in time, Kokonoe felt the teenager bring his arm around her petite frame roughly and carry her under his arm to face the man still at his mercy. He looked just as puzzled and frightened as she did if not worse since his life was on the line. For a moment she began to feel a little guilty about all the shit she said about him, but it was only slight and being superseded by her concern for her own well being.

"I'll give you a front row seat then."

"Let go...! Let me GO!" She struggled in his grasp and tried wiggling out from his tight hold but he was way too strong. Kagura laughed at that and held her tighter before manipulating Relius again by uttering another command.

"Now..." He raised his hand and smiled at the display that was Kokonoe's boss. " **Put it in your neck**."

The way Relius tried resisting the demand was horrific to witness to say the least. Sweat beaded from his forehead while shaking hands tried to pull the still moving knife away from his skin, but was met with no avail and left at the mercy of Kagura's control.

Kokonoe struggled to watch the brutality of it all.

His breath hitched when he slowly began plunging the knife deep into his throat, the blade sinking into his neck like butter and allowing the blood from within to seep from his wound and run down his neck in thick rivulets. Relius sputtered and choked, coughing and wheezing as that same red fluid soon came gushing out his mouth and soaked the rag that it was stuffed with, Kagura happy to watch the ruthless sight while Kokonoe looked down at the wood floor so as not to bare witness to it. Instead she watched the viscous red streams from above fall to his feet and soak through the floor, her body shivering from the overwhelming fear that was beginning to well up in her chest and the constricting way Kagura held onto her.

"You know..." The teenager said as he guided Relius to slash the knife across his neck by moving his fingers. "This always seems to happen every time I come to a new school. Someone acts like a total pain in my ass and I always gotta put 'em in their place." Kagura licked his lips at the way the jagged weapon ripped through the older man's neck by cutting through veins and breaking through bone while leaving a gaping hole in its wake. "But this time felt a lot different...in a good way. This feels personal on a way deeper level..."

Kokonoe said nothing and only stared wide eyed at the ever growing puddle forming in front of her.

"You're so, so different. I felt I needed to protect you." He continued. "I was never able to settle down with a girl. With so many chicks in the world I could have, it felt too easy. But when I saw you, with that fire in your eyes, beaming with so much energy, I knew I wanted you. I needed you, rather. I tried getting your attention, but you never noticed me... Never cared to..." He closed his fist tightly at that, making Relius' hand literally _tear_ through the rest of his neck with a mighty jolt that sent a fresh spray of blood to splatter on Kagura who seemed unfazed by it and Kokonoe who was momentarily brought back from her state of horror to reality once again because of it. She then heard Relius quickly stumble to the floor, his knees hitting the wood loudly before he finally crumpled on his side and into the pool of crimson below him, his body twitching and the last of his gasps leaving him as a noisy rattle through the gash in his neck until the room grew quiet once more.

"But I forgive you for that..." Kagura suddenly said, his grip loosening just enough on her to cradle her in his large arms. She looked deeply into his eyes, her blank pools of gold taking in the hidden madness that now swirled in his violet depths. "It ain't your fault, and who am I to stay mad at you? I was just so pissed, so upset that you could never give me the time of day. Not being able to see you hurt me, babe, so I did the next best thing... "

"Shut up..." She pleaded. It was barely audible, so much so that she was sure Kagura himself couldn't hear it, but she was so out of her mind right now, she couldn't even stand to hear the sound of her own _voice_.

"I took so many pictures and followed you as much as I could. I loved seeing you so vulnerable, I almost wanted to eat you up right there, but I knew I had to be patient, and lo and behold, here we are... A couple chats and a few possessions later, already makin' memories and already sharing kills. We make such a good team~" He brought her closer to his chest and held her there to embrace her, the smell of his cologne offensive to her nose and making her want to retch. "The school is probably dead by now, which is good. You don't need this place, much like how they don't deserve you. I got a better life waiting for ya, back at home, babe... Promise. Everything you want from a bigger career to a bigger salary, I'll give it to you."

"Shut up..." She said a little louder. "Shut up...!"

"My folks won't be too glad I ruined another school, but damn... bringing you home is really gonna help get their mind off of it. Maybe while we're there, we can get right down to how you'll be thanking me for this~" He growled lasciviously and moved his head back to look at her pouty lips. "And I think I have just the thing in mind..."

Kokonoe felt a chord snap in her brain and life rush back into her body when he even suggested the idea of spending a life together, and reeled her head back to spit in his face in rage—her spittle hitting him square the eye and dribbling down his cheek.

"YOU COCKSUCKER! YOU MONSTER!" She screamed from the top of her lungs and writhed frantically against his chest. "I HATE YOU! I CAN'T **STAND** YOU! I SHOULD'VE NEVER GIVEN YOU THE TIME OF DAY, YOU LYING SACK OF SH-MPH!"

Kagura clasped a hand over her running mouth before slamming her back down on a carpeted area of the floor so as not to hurt her, his expression unchanging as he proceeded to pin her beneath his body and chuckle at her irate demeanor.

"So **nooow** you wanna talk... Not when we shared such an important moment together, but now of all times." He wiped the wetness on his eye with the backs of his fingers. "And you say all this mean shit. I get that crap a lot, that I'm a monster, a demon, subhuman, yadda yadda, the list goes on and on...But when it's coming from your mouth," Kagura kissed and licked at the spots where he touched Kokonoe's spit and grinned. "Oh man... It's so, soooo fuckin' hot..."

The scientist growled and struggled under his heavy build by trying to kick and punch her way out from under him, determined to slaughter him if it meant getting herself killed in the meantime.

"That's why I love ya so much, Koko, baby." The teenager chanted something quick under his breath that rendered Kokonoe instantly motionless, her limbs falling stiffly in place at her sides while her mouth closed together firmly. She tried lifting anything from her fingers, to her toes and even her lips but was left with nothing but dead weight keeping her entire body down. "You got spunk. For any witch, that's the best thing you could ever want from a woman." He grinned madly. "However, that energy you got can easily go to something way better. We don't want you wasting it just yet before you meet my parents~"

A witch? That's how he was able to do all of this?

He was a goddamn **witch**?

Her mouth, stuck together and unable to make any noise beyond labored pants and breaths, Kokonoe could only groan in distress at her inability to move even her neck and peered up at Kagura threateningly despite the bitterly cold sensation of panic that was riding down her spine. He actually **was** a monster. A wolf in sheep's clothing. Something lower than scum. Lord knows what he might due to her now, and fuck was it anxiety inducing the situation she was in. He seemed content and even euphoric at her struggle and slapped his hands over her hips to bring her forward before tilting his head happily.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, babe. I may be a little "gifted" to say the least, but I'd never forgive myself if I laid a finger on you with it." He pulled her even further towards him to scoop her up in his arms by her legs and throw her over his right shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "You're so cute when you're all scared shitless like this though. You try to hide it so much, but I can practically _smell_ how fucking petrified you are. It's a good look for you~"

The scientist groaned as loud as she could, her muffled screams bordering between distress and literal rage as Kagura casually began carrying her out of the room and into the empty hallway. She continued making as much noise as she could, hoping and hoping, again and again in desperation that someone would come to her aid, but was met with nothing except for the boastful laughs that left Kagura each time she tried. This had gone on and on and on for what felt like hours of nothing but calling for help, her throat growing sore and more hoarse from her efforts and until she eventually began to peter out, the pain too great for her to go on any longer. She instead began humming to herself in defeat, her sealed lips quivering as she swallowed the urge to cry and closed her eyes shut to spare herself the embarrassment of letting her pride shatter. There was nothing to do but hang there and take it. Nothing to do but stare at the many bodies that now littered the hallways and the visceral remains that Kagura stepped into so heartlessly until they finally arrived outside. She made not a sound, not a lick of noise, and only listened to Kagura's words as he held her thighs to secure her and chant another spell.

"You're not gonna miss this life you had." Kagura declared, as if the statement in of itself was a matter of law. "I'll spoil you so much, you'll never remember how shit it was to live with humans." He patted the back of her leg comfortingly which did nothing but make her want to kick in reflex. "I love you, and sooner or later, you're gonna love me, too. **Whether you like it or not**."

Kokonoe, exhausted, closed her eyes one final time, unable to look at anything else but the obsidian void of her unconscious mind than the world itself and fell into a deep slumber, the last thing she heard being the snap of Kagura's fingers along with the feeling of a very warm sensation wash over her being as she was spirited away to whatever hell waited for her on the other side.

This time she really did hope that she never woke up.

* * *

 **Next fic is Ragna and Rachel related along with some very major roles from the NOL girls.**


	6. The Butcher's Cabin (Slasher: Part 1)

**I do not own Blazblue.**

 **Took a very long time to finish because of the immense boredom that overcame me writing the second part of this story. The NOL girls plus Celica are just no fun to write, unless of course they're being brutalized. Nevertheless, I'm trying to be more consistent and faster with updates, and I'll try harder next time. Hope you all enjoy.**

* * *

Large feet clad in boots of leather and steel trudged through the thick forest floor, the quiet snapping of leaves, twigs, and debris that he crushed under his foot and the axe he dragged across the ground the only sounds audible in the still, silent and ever peaceful evergreen garden that was his home. He could never imagine a more perfect place to spend the rest of his life in. Could not even entertain the thought of leaving the peace and quiet that his humble little abode so graciously offered to him. It was almost as if he would be leaving himself behind—himself and all the memories he had here. Perhaps in a different life, if things were a little more easier and he had nothing to hold him back, maybe he would consider living in a more suburban area, but he always doubted he would. He has only taken trips in and out of the forest a handful times to stack up on supplies and food, but each time he did, the wonders of city life was never anything he found special. The loud, angry yells of civilians, speeding cars, and the general presence of people was an annoyance to him. He would rather much stay here, where no one could find him nor see him. To spend the rest of his days in the presence of shady trees and the warm smiles of his family.

The large man adjusted the tattered trench coat draped over his shoulders and swung the axe he had in his hand to hold it over his shoulder. His brother and sister always wanted to see what it was like, life in the city world, but he never allowed it. He never wanted them leaving without his permission or their mother's. Outside of the forest was a danger to them and it would be for himself if he wasn't as capable as he was. His mother never liked how protective he was over them and the house they all lived in since he would need to get over that older brother instinct that he had, as she like to put it, so those two can finally grow up, but he couldn't help it. People were dangerous, the outside was dangerous, any and all things he didn't inspect and trust were considered dangerous, and there is not a thing in the world that will tell him otherwise.

He grumbled something indistinct under his breath and started walking faster, his heart and mind already missing the cozy and amiable atmosphere of his cabin and the voices of his family. They must all be so hungry now, with him taking so long sweeping the forest and all. He was gonna be late making dinner for them, and that's certainly not something his mother would like, let alone his siblings. Mom couldn't cook and his brother and sister couldn't lift a spoon without breaking a finger, so he needed to hurry back if he wanted to make it in time to feed them. It was so irresponsible of him to do, just to leave them there without food, but being a little late for dinner was better than allowing anyone to enter the forest. It's been awhile since he had to dispose of nerdowells who came out too deep in these parts, but he can never be too careful. Nothing is safe if he isn't around, and it was a view he shall always stand by until the day he dies. Most would say he was overprotective, but you could never be too cautious about safety.

He walked briskly down the dimly lit path the moon up above had graciously offered him and wasted no time heading back home. He'll make something simple—probably a stew of sorts, like beef or chicken. He didn't have much in mind in terms of a meal, but as long as it tasted good, it's not like they would care. They never did anyway.

In just a few minutes of hopping over rocks and crossing streams that separated him from his home, the man had finally made it to his cabin in what felt like seconds but not before taking in the humble sights of the blackened cottage that now stood before him. The charred logs that made up its exterior and the subtle smell of stale embers it gave off was both nostalgic yet somehow melancholy whenever he gazed upon it which he always found strange, much like the soot and ash that it was covered in. Nevertheless, it still made him feel at home, where he wanted to be, deserved to be. Even if it wasn't perfect or the most ideal place to live in, it still warmed his heart to even come inside and greet the happy, calm faces of the only family he had.

"I'm home." He called out as soon as his hand pushed through the door that led inside before closing it behind him. He then shrugged off his jacket and placed the dirtied axe in his hand against the wall as he slowly trotted his way through the living room while admiring the interior of his home with glazed over eyes. The walls, floors, and furniture was just the same as the outside, if not a little worse for wear, but he didn't pay it any mind nor did he bother questioning it. He wasn't one for appealing decor. As long as it was comfortable to sit and eat on, it didn't matter to him. His mother wouldn't like it if he threw out all the furniture she worked so hard to carve and build anyway.

In his head, he could hear all three members of his family greeting him with varying degrees of ebullience—his little sister would be running up to him trying to hug his leg while his mom would take his jacket off his shoulders. His brother would be somewhere, calling out some form of "hello" from a different room somewhere, only barely acknowledging his existence, but still holding that brotherly cadence that the man was so use to. He smiled at that and murmured hushed whispers as he made his way to the kitchen, his hands moving against the air as if hugging and patting the backs of his mother and sister. They both felt so warm against his skin, a familiar heat that he could never forget when it came to those two. He would hold onto them both longer if it weren't for the growls he was hearing erupting from their stomachs, so he instead let them go as gently and as subtly as he could and quickly got to work. Preparing dinner hadn't taken very long, save for the amount of time it took to braise the meat in the ages old wood burning stove he had stuffed in the far corner of the room.

He followed through with his plan of making a simple beef stew for them all to enjoy, and was diligent in piling on plate after plate with his cooking for each of them as soon as he was done. He then walked out to the dining room with food in hand to place each dish on the black and brittle wooden table that stood weakly in the middle of the floor before seating himself at the very end of it to eat his share. It was nothing but bitter cold, eerie silence that shrouded the room to the common ear, but for the large man, who picked and ate at his plate with hurried yet mechanical motions of his hand, it was as lively as he remembered it being years ago.

The plates of food on the table were still full and unmoving, but to him they were empty and licked clean by his family.

* * *

Rachel could not be any more annoyed with her current predicament right now. It was almost as if she was being punished for whatever sins she has done against God with each passing second she stayed in this damned vehicle.

The teenager watched from the window of the van she was currently trapped in the antics of the insufferable girls who had forced her to tag along with them on their exhibition as she lazily turned the pages in a book she brought with her. All five of them scurried clumsily out of the backdoor of the school they all attended, laughing the day away in excitement as they tried making it to the unlocked van she was tasked with guarding as quick as they could without being caught by any teachers or faculty members that might be around. A part of her wished that they would get caught considering how loud and obnoxious they all were, but then again, what good has she done this week to warrant such a blissful end to this idiotic trip.

One by one they all hustled across the grass in order from, in her opinion, absurdly obnoxious to only mildly annoying, each girl somehow more irksome than the last. At the front of the thankfully small herd was the loud and self appointed "leader" of her group of friends, a young junior who never seemed to do anything besides run her sordid mouth, named Makoto. Athletic, buxom, and a terrible busy-body, she had the hearsay as to what she and her lackies did, even if it ranged from sneaking out at night to skipping classes like they were all doing now. It baffled her as to why they all liked her so much, but then again, she hated most people anyway when it came down to it.

The next two that tailed behind her were a set of sophomores—a spindly blonde named Noel and an equally spindly brunette name Celica. Rachel was not so sure who she hated more between the both of them considering they were each their own brand of ignorant. Noel was meek and sensitive while Celica was daft and vapid—two sides of the same grossly polite coin. It was beyond her how such naivety has not led either girl to their untimely demise by the hands of nature, but she supposed that they were probably here to aid in her grief than for any other reason.

The last and perhaps the most tolerable of the group of friends, was a senior named Tsubaki, who tagged along hesitantly behind Celica and Noel. Her mouth was pulled into a frown as if deciphering whether or not making the trip with her trouble making friends was really worth it or not. Tsubaki wasn't really all that much of a nuisance—in fact, Rachel hardly noticed her—but her ostentatiously virtuous behavior, holier than thou attitude, and obsession with some boy she knew since childhood was what made her hard to be around. Poor her she wasn't one of the few whom she didn't wish death upon.

And then there was her, the poor girl forced to come with them on the grounds that her father find someone her age to hang around with instead of keep to herself all the time. He meant well, he always did, but he should know better than anyone that Rachel hated dealing with people who wasted her time. However, if not for his sake, she tried and hung around the first set of girls she spotted, and as expected, it was the biggest mistake she could have ever made in her life.

Rachel sighed and tried focusing on the book in her hands when she saw how close they now were. She hoped that this trip was at least worth the trouble of seeing them get scared of their own shadows. And if not that then the possibility of this van stalling on them or even losing a few tires. If only fate was on her side today...

She buried her face deeper into her novel at a desperate attempt to not be seen when she heard the car door open on the driver's side and Makoto's shrill voice call out for her companions to board the vehicle.

"C'mon, slowpokes, we don't wanna be caught!" She exclaimed while scrambling inside.

The two doors in the back of the van were the next set to swing open and allow the rest of the group to rush inside, Celica seeming giddy as usual as she scooted towards the middle while Tsubaki and Noel seated themselves at either of her sides, looking a tad nervous.

"It's a little hard to skip classes **and** get past security, Makoto!" Noel admonished as she looked out the window to see if any faculty members spotted her.

"I cannot believe you managed to convince me to do this with you..." Tsubaki grimaced as she slammed the car door besides her shut before buckling her seat belt. "What am I going to tell my parents when they find out I wasn't in class..."

"Special field trip is what you say!" Celica chimed in. "I know you're not one to lie, but maybe a little white one will do this time, Tsubaki."

Rachel added nothing to the conversation and only idly turned a page in her book.

Makoto pouted at the older girl once she settled in her seat. "Aren't you excited at least a little bit, Rachel?" She asked.

Rachel stayed silent for a little while longer until she finally decided to open her mouth.

"I am brimming with such exuberance for this dear event, I nearly forgot how to speak." She said dryly. "So much so in fact that I had not even realized when the lot of you came into this vehicle and began your insipid squawking."

Noel and Tsubaki laughed nervously at Rachel's sarcasm while Celica and Makoto beamed at her deadpan response. Noel and Tsubaki were always keen to know that Rachel wasn't a force to reckon with when she was annoyed, but Makoto and Celica always seemed to never mind. In fact they rather enjoyed her snappy remarks. Perhaps they thought she was merely fooling around with them despite how in reality she wouldn't mind tossing one of them down a cliff if she had the chance.

Makoto laughed it off and waved the other girl off. "Oh stop being such a debbie downer, Rach!" She grinned. "You should be excited for what I have planned for all of you!"

"Do tell..." Rachel muttered.

"I have some semblance of an idea what it is..." Tsubaki added. "But it's such a ridiculous excuse for us to skip school just to see it, Makoto."

"Ahh, you're just scared, Tsubaki!" The brunette teased. "If you're gonna be so chicken about it, you can always run back to the school... If you dare~"

Tsubaki made a face and crossed her arms as she slumped into her seat. It was too late for them to retreat to the school now unless they risked detention anyway.

"Me and Celica wanna know, too!" Noel peeped out. "You only told us we were gonna go to the park, Makoto!"

"Well...It's kinda like that..." She trailed off a tad. "We're not really going to park, but...something else. We're headed to the woods."

"The woods?" They all replied in unison, minus Rachel who only seemed marginally interested.

"That's right! The woods! But not just any old woods! We're heading for Lilac Creek!"

Noel was quick to yell at her friend when she even blurted out her response. "L-Lilac Creek!?"

Celica visibly shivered once the name was mentioned. "You don't mean THE Lilac Creek... Do you!? Like...The Butcher's Cabin, Lilac Creek!?"

"Why of course!" The older girl smirked proudly at the response she got from them and continued, "It's only obligatory we go see it since it's almost Halloween!"

"I don't wanna spend my Halloween in that creepy place!" Noel whined. "Why don't we just go to my house and watch some horror movies instead?"

"Like you know how to handle a horror movie, Noel!" Makoto laughed.

Noel couldn't help but stammer a little before rambling on, "Well, it'd be way better than stalking around there for hours on end!"

Celica was able to switch from her initial shock of the discovery of what they were all doing to mild intriguement of what Makoto had in store for them, and comforted Noel.

"Aw, it's probably not a big deal, Noelly. It would be kinda fun to see what kind of myth is behind it. Evil butchers and maniacs sounds like any old scary flick on paper."

"Not you, too, Celica..."

"It is just a myth..." Tsubaki interjected. "But a myth always has some sort of truth behind it... Are you sure about this, Makoto?"

"Positive!" The brunette cheered and looked over at Rachel who was still engrossed in her book. "How about you, Rach? You're not scared of anything, so this has to be a cinch for you."

The oldest girl gave Makoto a curt glance from the corner of her eye before turning a page.

"If throwing myself at a serial killer makes the trip just a little bit more entertaining, than I suppose I'm willing."

"Then it's set!" Yelled Makoto. "Let's kick start the end of the season with a blast!"

All except Rachel let out a hesitant "yay" that went unnoticed by Makoto. Lilac Creek, also known as the Butcher's Cabin, was a detritus-littered, dirt covered forest that was generally feared by very few of the older residents in their town, but acted as a source of immense morbid curiosity for the many teenagers who lived here. It was an ominous and infamous urban legend about the presumed residence of a reclusive serial killer who attacked all who entered his territory. Rachel was never sure when the first instance of the legend came to be, but from her limited knowledge, it stemmed from the disappearance of a group of friends who had went camping in Lilac some years ago. No one knew where they had gone to and a thorough police investigation was never able to figure what had happened to them either.

As fake as the urban legend was, and as dark as the thought in her head was, the idea of an elusive killer able to wipe any evidence they had clean and get away with their crime would be rather impressive.

Rachel remained silent as she usually did when she was around her "friends" and continued to read her book, only listening to the sound of Makoto grabbing the keys to the van from her pocket and the rumbling of the engine once she started it. The regal girl huffed through her nose once the vehicle started moving and couldn't help but bury her face deeper into her book when Makoto tried to hype everyone up by blasting the radio at an attempt to drive them out of their hesitancy. If sitting here, trapped by possibly the most insufferable women in the world singing along to the "Top 40" was really going to be how she was going to spend the next thirty minutes, Rachel was honestly better off being butchered alive by a fictional serial killer than sitting here any longer.

It was going to be a long and arduous ride, for sure, Rachel grumbled to herself.

And, as expected, the half-hour long car ride to the more rural part of town had felt like a half a day to the girl.

She had since closed the book in her hands and had instead leaned against the door panel to stare at the moving scenery from outside through the glass window. They were now driving on the main road that led straight into the forest that the alleged killer lived in and already she could hear Noel begin to whine at the very notion of a maniac living this deep in the countryside. Honestly, she thought, as soon as they all left the van, she had half a mind to take Makoto's keys and head straight home for a much needed nap.

"Damn, it's getting a little bit bumpy the further we drive in here..." Makoto grimaced as she tried keeping a steady hand on the wheel. "Place is already pretty good at setting a tone though..." She said while acknowledging the leafless trees and blackened dirt that the van drove over.

"A bit late to turn back now." Tsubaki replied. "At least stick to your games before backing out of them, Makoto."

"Hey, I didn't say I was gonna chicken out or nothin'!"

"Hark. Is that hesitance I hear?" She teased.

"You're so mean to me today, Tsubaki..." Makoto pouted.

Noel turned up her lip as she anxiously looked out of the window on her side to stare at the forest herself.

"This place is giving me the shivers..." She groaned. "If this is another one of your's prank, I am **never** talking to you again, Makoto..."

"How come I'm the bad guy all of a sudden today?" The brunette retorted. "Every year we do the same boring stuff—trick or treating, ghost stories, horror movies, and the occasional theme park! We might as well do something super cool, don't ya think? Hell, maybe even find out what happened to those campers years ago!"

"I agree with Makoto!" Celica chimed out loudly. "If a killer didn't get them, then maybe a ghost, or a vampire, or even a wendigo did! We'll never know until we check!"

"See? Celica gets what's goin' on!"

"Besides," The second-year began. "Even if we do find remains, it's not like it'll be gory or anything! They'll be skeletons at best since it's been a little while since they were gone!"

" **Celica**!" Noel and Tsubaki admonished.

Celica quickly put both hands over her mouth and giggled nervously. "Whoopsie, did I say, too much...?"

Rachel muttered something under her breath that consisted only of spite, she quick to tune everyone out once more when they got louder than she was comfortable with. They always spat out such inane, useless dribble like the vapid cows they were. Not an ounce of intelligible conversation ever came out of their mouths, even when she had at least tried to grace them with a response on whatever they were talking about. They were such a waste of her time, and she is definitely going to rid them from her life once and for all once this trip is over with.

The girls minus the bitter senior who accompanied them continued on with their airy banter until Makoto finally drove far enough into the forest to find a spacious area to settle the van in. She maneuvered the van slowly into a large ditch, careful not to hit any adjacent trees and sticks before finally turning off the engine and parking the car in a flat patch of yellow grass and dried leaves.

The scenery though large and expansive for a woodland, gave off a melancholy atmosphere. Unlike the rich tones of amber and hickory that seemed to accentuate their quaint little town back at home with its autumn hues, the trees here were significantly more...petrified. Everything from the ground to the trees were nothing but shades of ebony accentuated by dark grey shadows. It was as if life itself was stripped away from the forest and replaced with nothing but the ominous presence of the grim reaper himself. It was more than enough to scare Makoto, Noel, and the rest to stay in the van for a moment to regain their bearings, but for Rachel she couldn't help but be a tad curious. Maybe even a little intrigued. Forests do not magically become so barren and lifeless in such a short amount of time. Usually a good few decades of no rain or moisture could do this lasting of an effect to a forest unless something more had happened here that many do not know about.

Perhaps this trip could relieve her boredom just a little.

"Ugh! It's like everything is straight out of a scary movie!" Noel suddenly screamed. "Makoto, seriously, let's just go back!"

Makoto cleared her throat as she unbuckled her seatbelt, trying to put up another facade of valor to impress and calm her friends down. "It's alright, Noel! This place looks just like a Scooby-doo episode! See?" She placed a slightly shaky hand on the door handle to let herself out and stepped outside, the brunette looking around briefly before placing her hands on her hips and smelling the cold air.

"Ahh! Nothing like some fresh air to get the heebie-jeebies outta ya! C'mon, guys, we can't do anything just sitting around!"

Rachel silently let herself out from the passenger side while Tsubaki, Celica and Noel took a moment to gather their things and give one another a pep talk about bravery before scooting out of the backseat. Tsubaki stood poised next to the younger blonde who cowered behind Celica, near ready to wet her knickers while the peppy girl cheerfully tried to get her friend to calm down.

"We'll just look for a little bit and go back if it's too scary, okay, Noellie?" She reassured. "I know you can do it. You just have to believe!"

"I...I guess..." She shyly whispered. "I wish I was as brave as Miss Rachel..."

Tsubaki nodded and regarded Rachel who was busy admiring the sights around them. "It truly is quite telling how well composed she is. I'm beginning to calm down by just looking at her."

"Maybe reading all those scary books made her impervious to fear... Not to mention you can't scare someone who's already scary to begin with..." Celica blurted out.

Rachel felt her brow twitch at that and shot all three girls a glare, her schoolmates huddling close to one another out of fear they had said something to tip her off.

"I suggest you keep your idle chatter to yourselves lest this "scary girl" does something that shall truly terrify you."

Beads of sweat comically rolled down their foreheads as they nodded simultaneously at her threat.

"O-Of course Miss Rachel..." Tsubaki stuttered.

"We'll be super quiet!" Celica laughed.

"Please don't hurt me..." Noel shuddered.

Rachel grimaced at their cowardice and glowered at them for a minute longer before turning to Makoto who was watching the entire exchange.

"Oh, uh...Something up, Rach?" She asked.

"Lead the way." Rachel stated. "You have a map, do you not?"

"Right, right, right, right!" Makoto dug into her messenger bag for a map of Lilac Creek she had printed out before driving here and pulled it out for all to see. "Come one, come all! This is gonna be our key to finding the cabin!"

Tsubaki peered over Makoto's shoulder and stared incredulously at the map. "I don't see a cabin anywhere on here, Makoto."

"Well, duh! Legend has it it was built kinda recently so it ain't gonna show on an old fuddy-duddy map like this! This thing was made in like the 80s!"

"You couldn't find a more recent map?" Asked Noel.

"Not a one." Replied Makoto. "Even after those campers disappeared and cops were all over the place, no one thought to draw one up."

Rachel quietly looked at the map herself and analyzed the directions and the crudely drawn "x" shaped mark that Makoto had drawn, perhaps to indicate where the alleged cabin was located.

"Is that where the cabin is?" Rachel inquired.

"Yup! We just need to take a scenic route and—"

"Interesting." The blonde did not wait for Makoto to continue prattling on and went on her way once she had a good idea where to go.

"Hey, R-Rachel!" Makoto called out. "Where are you—"

"The scenic path, if you look closely enough, has a dead end that will waste more of our time if we follow it." She explained while walking a good deal ahead of them. "The main route will be the fastest. Now are you coming or not?"

The group gawked at Rachel's sudden superior sense of direction before shrugging it off and tagging along behind her, the girls paired up with a respective friend while Rachel stared dead on at the path before her. The spine-tingling air, the smell of wet dirt and wood, and the harrowing atmosphere was the farthest thing from disturbing in her eyes—in fact she kind of enjoyed it. She had a fascination with the macabre and all things equally morbid, especially when the very forest she was walking in right now appeared as though it had a story to tell. She believed not in a school yard urban legend of killers and maniacs, but at least the tale surrounding Lilac could provide her clues as to what happened here.

Too busy leading the way to notice the activities of the other girls, Rachel stayed focused at trying to navigate through the dead evergreen while Makoto, Noel, Tsubaki, and Celica chatted amongst themselves.

Makoto shuffled alongside her redheaded friend dejectedly, slightly disappointed that her spot as both tour guide and leader was temporarily usurped by the queen of mean. She liked Rachel a lot, and she never minded it when she was a little blunt about what she did or didn't like, but having her role taken from her so easily was certainly unexpected.

"Is something the matter, Makoto?" Asked Tsubaki. "You seem a little pale."

"I wanted to lead the way..." Makoto mumbled.

Tsubaki stifled a laugh. "Is that why you look so blue? Just because you couldn't read a map?"

"I too can read a map!" Makoto pouted. "I confused the routes together is all!"

"And we would have wasted more time than we should have." The younger senior reasoned. "Getting lost in the woods just so you can avoid having your pride damaged isn't something to get upset over, Makoto."

"Hey, worse case scenario, even if we **did** get lost, which I'm pretty sure we wouldn't," Makoto added. "But we could just use the GPS in our phones to find our way no problem!"

Tsubaki sighed at her friend's obstinate behavior. "As stubborn as a bull as always... When will you ever grow out of being so hard-head—Oop!" Tsubaki abruptly stopped in her tracks when she felt herself walk into Rachel's back. "Oh, my apologies, Miss Rachel."

"Watch where you are going before you send both of us into the water." Rachel suddenly said, her eyes fixated on what laid a little ways in front of her feet.

"What is it, Rach?" Makoto inquired.

"This." She pointed at what was there.

It was a sizeable yet shallow creek with fresh running water and large stones that sat in its wake, the only distinguishing feature of the forest that gave Lilac Creek its name, Rachel guessed.

"A creek." The senior explained, she quick to hop onto a rock before leaping for another one. "Unless you want to get wet, watch your step crossing it."

"Aye, aye, captain." Makoto saluted.

"You might wanna let go of me for this one, Noel..." Celica giggled. "It's just a little bit of water."

"I know, I know..." Noel muttered, opting to hold Celica's hand instead of her shoulders to balance herself. "I don't wanna fall in though."

"You're such a scaredy-cat when you're freaked out enough, Noellers!" Makoto laughed.

"Am not! I just don't want to get my feet wet!"

"Sure, sure!"

"Makoto!"

Rachel continued walking as soon as she crossed the creek and had not even bothered waiting for the others, the senior opting to ignore their heavy pants and complaints for her to slow down when they finally caught up with her. The group continued to trek through the wilderness nonetheless, the sky growing darker and the air growing more frigid the longer they traversed through the open forest until they finally arrived at their destination.

What stood before them was in worse shape than what any of them could imagine.

It was the aforementioned log cabin in all its glory, but dilapidated and rotted beyond repair. The wood was scorched black while the ground surrounding it was dry and barren. Any and all windows present were either broken or missing, and the wooden door that led inside was battered and hanging by a single hinge. Rachel couldn't imagine anyone taking residence in such squalor unless they were as insane as the killer who lived inside of it, but nevertheless, she was getting ominous vibes the longer she stared at it.

She was unsure if she wanted to go inside.

"Woah~!" Chimed Makoto.

"How...quaint..." Tsubaki remarked.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh...! What am I even doing here...!?" Whined Noel.

Celica stared blankly at the cabin for a moment before yelling out, "Is anyone home~!"

Rachel took a step back and felt a chill ride up her spine. She suddenly felt nervous. Her gut feeling was to stay outside and not come any closer to the house, but she wasn't sure why. The cabin was abandoned, and too far beyond repair for anyone to live in, so why was her fascination about this entire thing being replaced by dread? Was she just paranoid? Was this a misfiring of her brain that was telling her to leave? She had not the faintest idea on what to do until she felt Makoto bump into her left shoulder as she rushed towards the entrance.

"Wow!" The brunette exclaimed as she peeked through a gnarled hole of the door. "Kinda looks like the cabin from The Evil Dead, dontcha think?"

"Of course you'd make such a gory comparison." Tsubaki admonished. "But even that cabin looked significantly more refined than whatever...this is."

"It's kinda like a haunted house in a way..." Celica remarked.

Noel slinked behind Celica's back once more and clutched her shoulders. "I don't think I wanna get any closer!"

"You can always go back to the van if you want, Noel." Makoto said. "I know you can't handle stuff like this."

"But I don't wanna get lost! Or lose track of you guys!" She continued. "Ugh, whatever! Let's just stay close to each other, okay...?"

"Let's march then! Make sure to grab a buddy to tag along with!" Makoto cheered as she opened the flimsy door. "Rachel, you can stand by me and scare anything that comes after us, 'kay~?"

Rachel did not move for a few seconds to watch the girls walk by her and enter the cabin before trudging behind them herself, still unable to shake off the paranoia in her breast. She was convinced it was nothing, and was set to just look inside a bit to ease her curiosity before coming back outside or even walking back to the van to the wait for them, but her guts were still gnarled and twisted in worry. She herself wasn't scared, but the tone the house was giving off was anxiety inducing. She however managed to maintain her composure and ventured inside along with the others.

All five girls silently crept inside the house, Makoto being the first to enter followed by Tsubaki, Celica, Noel, and finally Rachel who all reacted differently to what lurked inside. It was all too dark to see minus a few streaks of orange light peeking through the windows thanks to the setting sun, but from their vantage point they could make out the shape of a few objects that were scattered about the room. Simple pieces of furniture, some hanging pictures, and a couple of random items that stayed perched on the floor. Minus the creaking floorboards and the holes that littered the walls, the cabin itself seemed pretty innocuous.

Or that's what Rachel wanted to think anyway.

"Okay, okay, we saw what's inside...!" She heard Noel complain once more. "Let's go back now!"

"We barely even stepped a foot inside!" Makoto replied happily as she ran out into the living room and down a hall. "C'mon, we got some investigating to do!"

"M-Makoto!" Tsubaki yelled out and ran after her friend so she wouldn't get lost. "Be careful! We don't know our way around in here!"

"Oh relaaax, Tsubaki! I'll be fine!"

"Don't leave us here!" Celica held onto Noel's hand much to the other's chagrin and followed them as well. "I'm gonna get spooked out, too if you do!"

Rachel remained behind and instead looked around some more, she taking out her cell phone to turn on its flashlight and get a better view of what was around her. She then proceeded to walk in the direction of where the others went and waved her phone over various parts of the house that piqued her interest, the girl growing more suspicious the deeper she ventured inside.

Besides the sight of rotten wood, holes, and torn wallpaper, the interior of the cabin was significantly blacker inside than it was outside. The furniture from earlier was charred beyond recognition along with a few lamps while the wood floors themselves seemed as though they would crack and cave in any minute from how weak the boards were.

If she had to guess right, some point in the past or perhaps even less than a decade ago, this cabin and possibly the forest surrounding it had caught on fire.

"Makoto, you're gonna break it!"

"It's already broken to begin with! It's just a stupid vase!"

The sound of the girls clamoring around the deepest part of the cabin, knocking over what sounded like pots and pans and a few glass ornaments, brought Rachel out of her musings and made her catch up with them down the hall that opened up into a sizable kitchen. She watched Tsubaki and Noel scold Makoto for her reckless behavior and Celica poke at the other items that were on the ground. Rachel sighed in agitation at their inability to stay quiet and was about to walk into a different area of the room until she spotted something peculiar from the corner of her eye. The senior turned around and shined her phone across the object in question, her suspicions coming back to haunt her when she saw what it was.

It was a small mahogany coffee table that sat innocuously near the entrance of the kitchen, the table itself just as filthy as the furniture out in the living room.

As for the contents on the surface however, it was a different story.

It was three simple little picture frames surrounding a dusty vase holding a bouquet of dead flowers, the pictures themselves clean dirt free while its neighbor continued to passively suffer from the effects of time. All three photos featured a family of four—a single white haired mother and her three blonde children—smiling and laughing the day away on a bright, sunny afternoon. It was all a stark contrast from the dark, morbid atmosphere the cabin was giving off, but yet equally as unsettling. It wasn't a coincidence that these specific items were dusted and polished off with such care and yet the rest of the house wasn't. Someone with their own two hands had done this. Someone lived here in undisturbed silence, uncaring of what happened on the outside, perfectly comfortable living in absolute solitude.

It was then that alarms started to go off in Rachel's head.

She looked around the kitchen, living room and hallways for anymore pictures, and was shocked to see that the ones hanging on the walls and sitting atop the other tables were just as pristine as the photos she had seen only a second ago. Someone definitely lived here. She didn't know who, but someone who had a deep, near obsessive connection with the past lived here alone, secluded, and they wanted it to stay that way.

Rachel's frantic movements did not go unnoticed by one of the girls, and Noel, who was just as anxious as her though for the wrong reasons, was the first to ask what was wrong with her older friend.

"Um... Miss Rachel? Is something wrong?"

Rachel was quick to reply. "We need to leave..." She said aloud. "This cabin is not safe."

"W-What...!?" Noel turned almost as white as a ghost in panic and reflexively hid a little ways behind Celica in response. "What do you mean, Rachel...!?"

"Noel..." Celica sighed. "What's the matter this time?"

"Don't go scaring her again, Rachel." Makoto grumbled. "She's already close to peeing herself as is."

"I am serious!" The senior turned the flashlight off on her phone and whipped herself around to face the others. "Someone lives here and we have to—"

She choked on her own words when, through the ever growing darkness that was beginning to swallow the inside of the cabin whole, she saw an apparition hiding within the shadows. It was a tall and dark masculine figure, towering over the girls with a presence ever so harrowing that Rachel herself couldn't help but take a apprehensive step back despite its lack of movement. He watched the actions of the young women below him as if they were roaches skittering across his feet, the last remains of the setting Sun's rays shining just enough through the holes of the cabin to reveal the mismatched, manic eyes of a poor man's devastated face.

Rachel could only motion for them all to get back, she too scared to make any sudden movements that would alert the man behind them.

"Get to my side _**NOW**_." She hissed through gritted teeth, her voice barely above a whisper.

She wasn't sure if they were honest to God too confused to figure out what she was doing or truly too stupid for their own good to realize what was lurking behind them, but Rachel reflexively wanted to hurl imprecations at each and every one of them when she watched Makoto make light of the situation via doing perhaps the least intelligent thing she's seen her do all day.

"Man, you're a real joker today, Rach." Makoto grinned as she rested her hands behind her head. "I like it and all since it ain't like you, but we can calm it down at least for Noel's sake, don't you think?"

"I think it's less so pulling a prank and something more serious, Makoto." Tsubaki shook her head. "Did you see something that frightened you, Miss Rachel?"

Rachel could not help but gawk at their daftness and tried shifting her gaze between them and the terror that continued to stand behind them, she even tempted enough get over there and drag them all by their wrists to spare them from the impending doom looming over her. But it was too late.

Makoto had made a careless mistake.

"She's all white in the face..." The brunette examined as she turned on her heel and tried making her way out of the kitchen. "Whiter than usual anyway, heh! If you wanna stay there and keep Noellers company for a bit, you can—Oof!"

Though Rachel couldn't make any part of him out now given how the cabin was now completely dark save for the light of the rising moon, the older girl could easily see her younger acquaintance foolishly walk right into their potential assailant's chest.

What Rachel saw next made her stomach churn.

"What the...?" Makoto blinked owlishly at the feeling of warm, slightly stale smelling cloth colliding with her body and furrowed her brows in confusion. She then proceeded to run her hands over the thing she had walked into, confused when she felt rigid muscle reflexively throb beneath her fingers until realization had finally hit her like a speeding train, her stance tense as she looked up to see not **what** but who was in front of her.

Suffice to say, her tough as nails demeanor had cracked just slightly when she saw his face.

The face that had nothing but hate and malice etched onto his features.

"AH!" The brunette jumped back in shock along with the rest of the girls who only stared doltishly at their startled friend.

"W-What's the matter, Makoto...?" Celica asked.

Makoto said nothing and brought one arm out to signal to the rest of the girls to get behind her.

"R-Rachel wasn't kidding..." She breathed. "Someone is here, and I need all of you to get back!"

"W-What!?" Tsubaki questioned.

"Are you serious!?" Celica yelled.

Noel reacted as though the reaper was right before her eyes. "W-W-Wait...! Are you...!?"

As if on cue, all three friends looked up at what it was Makoto was talking about and jolted when they saw him, causing Noel to reflexively dive behind Celica and Tsubaki and pull both girls by the tails of their shirts to huddle over to Rachel.

"Oh GOD!" Screamed Noel. "Come on, Makoto, we need to leave!"

Makoto stared despondently at the man in front of her and huffed, attempting to put up an air of defiance before him to hide her fear and point an accusing finger his way.

The man, who already looked rather upset, scowled even harder.

"Makoto, stop messing around!" Tsubaki yelled. "Get over here now!"

"How do I know this isn't some joker trying to scare us girls into thinking the killer lives here?" She angrily questioned. "He probably thought it would be funny to pull a prank on us!"

Rachel couldn't help but look dumbfounded at Makoto's sudden idiocy and was compelled to drag her over here to safety. The mess of the cabin, the pristine conditions of the pictures, and the blatant rage on the man's face should be more than enough to sound some kind of alarm in Makoto's head.

But instead of keeping her mouth shut and doing what Rachel explicitly yelled at her to do, she was only managing to tick the man off even more.

"I'm not scared of you!" She continued. "So unless you wanna tussle, I suggest you leave us alone!"

The man blinked once at her threat and proceeded to take one step forward, his eyes piercing through Makoto's brown ones as if he was peering right at her soul. The young woman shivered a little at that but kept her ground, trying her very best not to be intimidated by his size or his presence.

"Hey, buddy, I'm warning ya, I'm not to be taken lightly!"

Noel wiped the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes and grimaced. "She...She isn't going to actually fight him, r-right...?"

Tsubaki swallowed a lump in her throat and shook her head in disbelief. "I don't doubt her abilities since Makoto is more than capable of taking down men bigger than her..." She began. "But this...this feels different than some common thug..."

"Makotoooo!" Celica whined. "Joke or not, we shouldn't mess with him still!"

Another step and the man was no more than an inch or so away from Makoto, his back straight and his stare unrelenting as he watched the girl move back and take a stance in response.

"I'm telling you, man, I'm warning you!" She readied her right fist and bared her teeth. "I don't hold back, especially dealing with creeps like you!"

The man suddenly stopped glaring daggers at her once she uttered her threat and instead gave her an unreadable, blank stare, his head cocking to the side as if he were urging her to try and lay a finger on him.

It was subtle and unrecognizable to the untrained eye, but Rachel could see he was mocking her.

And Makoto had foolishly fallen for it.

"Why you..." She growled. "Making fun of me or not, I ain't gonna let you hurt me or my friends!"

She winded up her punch, her fist clenched tight and arm flexed for combat, as she aimed for the man's open white cheek to knock the daylights out of him in a single blow. Everyone had their eyes closed to brace themselves for impact minus Makoto, her adversary, and Rachel, the other girls expecting the man to fall down, stagger, or even flinch at the attack launched at his face, but when the adrenaline died down and the sound of skin hitting skin had stopped reverberating through the air, there was no sound of the man falling flat on his back. No sound of him groaning in pain and cursing the day away. No sound of Makoto kicking him while he was down and defending her companions even more.

The girls dared to open their eyes again.

Instead the man still stood there, Makoto's fist mashed into his face and cheek wrinkling around her fingers as he continued to glare at her, his expression back from being unreadable to the irate frustration they all saw before.

"W-Wha...?"

Makoto was at a lost for words.

She was in so much shock she barely reacted to what he did next.

Arm shooting from his side, the man brought a large, gloved hand to the teenager's body and wrapped his thick fingers around her neck, the sight alone causing all of the girls to scream bloody murder

"M-MAKOTO!" They yelled.

Makoto gasped and quickly tried to loosen his grip by tugging at his wrist at a desperate attempt to get away, but was only met with a harsh squeeze that left her coughing for air. She stared up at him with wide, fearful eyes, her auburn depths clouded with fright and worry as he peered into her soul once more and clenched tighter. The other girls, paralyzed by the situation, dared not to move their feet to save their captured friend, for they all knew that this...monster was for too strong for all four of them to handle. They could only look on in horror as the man switched between looking at her and the lot of them apathetically, silently threatening them to come closer if they dared interrupted him, and further accentuated his point by lifting Makoto above his height and suffocating her even more.

At this point the teenager was coughing and wheezing at both the weight on her neck and the hand that was crushing her trachea, Makoto clawing and scratching at the man's hand to get him to stop, but was only met with a strong squeeze that made a choked, guttural wheeze leave her mouth. The twisted man watched through the gaps of his bangs at the sight of it all, hatred coursing through his veins as he sadistically watched the young girls eyes grow red from the tears rolling down her cheeks as pressure welled up in her head. To him this was just another job, just another intruder who had dared to step inside and pollute his home with their filthy feet and dirty presence. Another intruder who wanted to ruin the sanctity of the only place he felt safe and secure—happy and not as gloomy. During his rumination, his hand had grown unbearably tight around Makoto's neck, the teenager drooling and choking on her own spit as her hands and face turned a clammy blue and her grip on his wrist weakening until he completely closed his fist around her neck.

None of the girls could bare to watch.

A crunching noise muffled by the man's glove and Makoto's tender skin made everyone besides Rachel scream in agony. It just wouldn't stop—he never let go of her neck and just kept crushing it under his hand, rendering Makoto a gurgling mess of shrieks and pleas until it all finally stopped.

The man growled at the mess on his hands and at the lifeless stare of the girl he had killed before unceremoniously dropping her body onto the wood floors and kicking it to the side, his steps slow, large, and holding such malicious intent that anyone unfortunate to be under his boot would have no choice but to kiss the ground for dear life.

One intruder was down, and there were only four left to go.

* * *

 **Sorry for the cliffhanger ending, but 13 to 14k words wouldn't be suitable for one chapter. Expect a gore fest coming your way next time. Also, if anyone is interested, I made a discord specifically for Blazblue fanworks, so check out the link in my profile if you're interested in joining.**


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